Housing starts slip in March
By Adam Freill
Construction ResidentialTrend and seasonally adjusted rate of housing starts dipped from February, but urban centres are still well ahead of 2023.
Housing Starts in Canada – All Areas. (Source: CNW Group/Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation)
The total monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of housing starts for all areas in Canada decreased seven per cent in March, with 242,195 units getting underway compared to the 260,047 reported by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) for February.
The dip had the six-month trend in housing starts slipping by 1.6 per cent, moving from 247,971 units in February to 243,957 units in March. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.
Talking a broader look at the year-over-year figures, the actual number of housing starts across Canada’s urban centres with populations of at least 10,000 was up 16 per cent to 17,052 units in March compared to 14,756 units in March of 2023. Figures indicate that this increase was driven by higher multi-unit starts, which were up 19 per cent, and a smaller two per cent rise in higher single-detached starts.
March’s actual housing starts were 10 per cent and 15 per cent higher, year-over-year, in Toronto and Vancouver, respectively, because of higher multi-unit starts. Single-detached starts decreased in both cities in that time. Montreal’s actual starts decreased 1 per cent due to a decline in the city’s multi-unit starts.
