Canadian Housing Starts Declined in March

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reported Wednesday (4-19-23) that the standalone monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts for all areas in Canada declined 11% in March to 213,865 units, compared to February’s 240,927 units.

CMHC says the monthly SAAR of total urban starts (population centers of 10,000+) declined 12%, with 192,545 units reported in March. Multi-unit urban starts decreased 11% to 151,769 units, while single-detached urban starts decreased 16% to 40,776 units. The rural starts monthly SAAR estimate was 21,320 units.

The trend in housing starts was 240,669 units in March, down 6% from 254,658 units in February. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of monthly SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.

Adding additional background and his analysis to the March report, CMHC’s Chief Economist Bob Dugan said:

“Despite the national decline in March, the SAAR of housing starts and the trend appears to be returning to pre-pandemic levels. With interest rates remaining high, it continues to be challenging for developers and homebuilders to get projects started. We will need to find innovative ways to deliver more housing supply to keep up with demand and ultimately improve affordability.”