The national housing industry has released its latest monthly update
The annual pace of housing starts fell by 3% in June compared with May, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has revealed.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 273,841 units for June, according to the national housing agency, compared with May’s total of 282,188.
That decline was spurred by a lower annual rate for urban starts, which dropped 3% in June to 257,438 units, as the annual pace of urban starts of condos, apartments, and other multi-unit housing projects also fell – by 2%, to 197,022 units.
The six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates of housing starts jumped to 258,295 units in June from 252,444 in May, with CMHC’s chief economist Bob Dugan noting that despite the lower annual numbers, activity remained noticeably elevated by historical standards.
“The monthly SAAR was lower in June compared to May. However, the level of housing starts activity in Canada remains historically high and well above 200,000 units since 2020,” he said in comments accompanying the news release.
“The decrease in monthly SAAR housing starts in Canada’s urban areas was driven by lower single-detached starts in June. Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal all recorded higher total SAAR starts, driven by higher multi-unit starts except for Montreal where single-detached starts posted a higher increase.”
