Starts are also expected to slow for the rest of 2024
The pace of housing starts across Canada slowed in June as an uneven and unpredictable year for national home construction continued.
The monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of housing starts for all areas was 9% lower in June than May, new data from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) showed, falling to a pace of 241,672 units.
That decline was spurred in large part by a sizeable drop in the actual number of housing starts in urban centres with a population of 10,000 and more. Those areas witnessed a 13% overall year-over-year decline, slowing to 20,509 units compared to 23,518 in the same month last year.
The six-month trend in housing starts also slipped, falling by 0.4% to 247,205 units last month (down from 248,260 units in May).
According to CMHC, #HousingStarts are expected to drop for the rest of 2024
— CMHC (@CMHC_ca) July 16, 2024
High interest rates and weak condo presales will continue to slow multi-unit construction in major centres where it takes longer to get apartment projects off the ground.
Let’s look at June data (aš§µ)/1
Toronto and Vancouver, typically Canada’s two busiest and priciest housing markets, posted huge drops in total actual housing starts compared with 12 months prior. Toronto saw actual housing starts plunge by 60%, with Vancouver recording a decline of 55%.
A big slowdown in the pace of multi-unit construction contributed to that muted performance, although Montreal fared notably better with actual housing starts spiking by 226%, CMHC said.
The national housing agency also released an update on the first six months of the year, which saw the six largest Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) in Canada record a 4% jump in the pace of housing starts compared with the first two quarters of 2023.
Calgary, Edmonton and Montreal all posted higher starts, helping counteract declines in Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa.
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