Latest figures have been released
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has revealed that the six-month trend in housing starts was higher in November with a 0.7% rise from the previous month, amounting to a total of 257,777 units, up from 255,876 in October.
The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts for all areas in the country.
In November, the monthly SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada endured a 22% decrease, amounting to 212,624 units. This compared to 272,264 units in October.
“The notable drop in the rate of housing starts in November, particularly in the multi-unit space, should not come as a major surprise and reflects tighter economic conditions impacting construction timelines,” said Kevin Hughes, CMHC’s deputy chief economist.
“As the more difficult borrowing conditions and labour shortages now seem to be showing in the starts numbers, we can expect to see continued slower starts rates in the coming months,” he added.
For total urban housing starts, the monthly SAAR also decreased with only 195,363 recorded units. Multi-unit urban starts saw a 27% decrease, while single-detached urban units saw a 7% decrease. In Montreal, total SAAR housing starts saw a 30% decrease while Toronto and Vancouver both saw a 39% decline caused by decreases in multi-unit starts.
Meanwhile, the monthly SAAR estimate for rural starts was 17,261 units.
