Canadian Press
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in August slowed 22 per cent compared with July.
The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts came in at 217,405 units in August, down from 279,804 a month earlier.
The drop came as the annual pace of urban starts fell 24 per cent to 199,478 units compared with 261,043 in July.
Also, in large urban centres, there have been 149,922 actual housing starts year-to-date (January – August) in 2024. This compares to 143,229 for the same period in 2023, meaning actual housing starts are currently 5% higher this year.
“Growth in actual year-to-date housing starts has been driven by both higher multi-unit and single-detached units in Alberta, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s Chief Economist. “By contrast, year-to-date starts in Ontario and British Columbia have decreased across all housing types.
“As the housing shortage continues, higher levels of construction are needed to restore affordability in Canada’s urban centres.”
The annual rate of starts of multi-unit urban projects such as apartments, condominiums and townhouses dropped 29 per cent to 154,290 units, while the rate of single-detached urban starts rose three per cent to 45,188.
The annual pace of rural starts was estimated at 17,927 units.
The six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 248,480 units in August, down 2.9 per cent from 255,794 in July.