New home construction sees unexpected uptick
Canada’s housing starts jumped by more than expected in November, rising by 8% thanks to a spike in multi-unit starts across British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said on Monday that the seasonally adjusted annualized rate of starts came in at 262,443 units for the month compared with 242,207 units in October – above economist expectations of 245,100 starts.
The national housing agency described the month as a “historically busy November” for new home building across centres with a population of 10,000 or greater. Actual starts in those areas came in at 22,345, meaning the year-to-date total rose to 210,912 – up 3% over the same period in 2023.
🏡 The six-month trend in #HousingStarts was flat (-0.3%) in November at 243,268 units.
— CMHC (@CMHC_ca) December 16, 2024
However, November saw an 8% increase in the total monthly SAAR of housing starts to 262,443 units.
Let’s break down the data in more detail. (a🧵)
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Montreal saw actual monthly starts increase by 143% year over year, while Vancouver registered a 52% jump. For the year so far, Montreal has recorded a rise in actual starts by 22%, although the pace has slowed in Vancouver by 14% and in Toronto by 20%.
The six-month trend in housing starts, a moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate, was flat in November at 243,268 units.
CMHC chief economist and senior vice president, market insights Mathieu Laberge said that Alberta, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces were pushing year-to-date starts higher – but “Canada still needs major increases in supply growth to restore affordability in our urban centres.”
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