Canadian Housing Starts Rise in September

On Thursday, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reported that housing starts rose 14% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 279,234 units, compared with 244,543 units in August. The rural starts monthly SAAR estimate was 24,889 units.

Year-over-year, actual housing starts in centers with populations of 10,000 or greater increased 19% to 22,375 units, up from 18,806 in September 2024. The year-to-date total reached 178,033 units, 5% higher than the same period in 2024.

The six-month “trend” in housing starts increased 4.1% to 277,147 units. CMHC noted that the trend measure is a six-month moving average of the SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.

Commenting on the report, CMHC Deputy Chief Economist Tania Bourassa-Ochoa said:

“The six-month trend in housing starts was pushed higher in September, driven by significantly higher monthly starts in Ontario, Québec, and the Prairie provinces. Notably, Montréal and Toronto were responsible for more than a quarter of the total monthly starts nationally, primarily due to increased rental apartment starts. While these results indicate some resilience, it is worth noting that current housing starts levels are generally reflective of decisions made months or even years ago when investor confidence was higher than it is today.”