Canadian Housing Starts Rise 5% in September

On Wednesday, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reported that the annual pace of housing starts in Canada was up 5% in September.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 223,808 units in September, up from 213,012 in August. The increase came as the pace of starts in urban centers increased 6% to 210,002 units compared with 199,035 in August.

Actual housing starts in Canada’s urban centers have risen 2% in the first three quarters of the year. There are 168,897 homes which have begun construction from January to September, up from 165,559 for the same period in 2023.

CMHC highlighted Montreal, where actual year-to-date housing starts are up 15% from the same period last year, partially attributed to a recovery from historically low new-home construction in 2023. Meanwhile in Vancouver, actual starts are down 19% thus far in 2024 compared with 2023, which was a record year. Toronto’s year-to-date housing starts are down 20% from 2023, which was also high by historical standards.

The rate of starts for urban multi-unit projects increased 6% to 163,400 units, while the pace of starts of urban single-detached homes rose 5% to 46,602. The annual rate of rural starts was estimated at 13,806 units for September. CMHC said the six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 243,759 units in September, down from 246,972 in August.

Commenting on the report, CMHC’s deputy chief economist, Kevin Hughes, said:

“Growth in actual year-to-date housing starts has been driven by both higher multi-unit and single-detached units in Alberta, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. By contrast, year-to-date starts in Ontario and British Columbia have decreased across all housing types. Despite the increase in housing starts in September, we remain well below what is required to restore affordability in Canada’s urban centers.”