The market's downward trajectory observed over the past year might be finally levelling off
The annual pace of housing starts in March helped offset the major slowdown experienced by the national market in February, according to new data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, new home construction went up to 192,527 units in March, considerably higher than the 166,290 units in February.
The March figure fell short of the 196,500 annual pace earlier predicted by economists, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon. The six-month moving average stood at 202,279 units in March, compared to February’s 202,039.
“There’s no doubt the Canadian housing market has slowed in the past year, but the latest data on construction suggests the downward trend is stabilizing,” BMO Capital Markers senior economist Sal Guatieri stated earlier this week, as quoted by The Canadian Press.
“We still see starts hovering around, or even just above, 200,000 this year, marking a small step back from last year while remaining historically high.”
Multi-residential structures like apartments, condominiums, and townhouses accounted for a significant portion of the new construction volume. Urban multiple-unit starts grew by 18.6% in March, representing 135,894 units.
Meanwhile, single-detached urban starts increased by 12.1% to 42,139 units. Rural starts were pegged at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 14,494 units.
