CMHC reports a 5% rise in September housing starts, but affordability challenges persist in cities
According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the six-month trend in housing starts across Canada saw a decrease of 1.3 percent, dropping from 246,972 units in August to 243,759 units in September.
This trend measure is based on a six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts.
In September, the total monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas in Canada increased by 5 percent to 223,808 units, up from 213,012 units in August. CMHC reports that urban centres with populations of 10,000 or more saw 168,897 actual housing starts from January to September 2024.
This is 2 percent higher than the same period in 2023, which recorded 165,559 housing starts.
According to Kevin Hughes, CMHC’s deputy chief economist, “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.”
He continued, “By contrast, year-to-date starts in Ontario and British Columbia have decreased across all housing types. Despite the increase in housing starts in September, we remain well below what is required to restore affordability in Canada's urban centres.”
In September, the total SAAR of housing starts in urban centres increased by 6 percent to 210,002 units.
Multi-unit urban starts rose by 6 percent, reaching 163,400 units, while single-detached urban starts increased by 5 percent to 46,602 units. In rural areas, the monthly SAAR estimate for housing starts stood at 13,806 units.
CMHC data shows that actual year-to-date housing starts in Montreal increased by 15 percent from January to September 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. This improvement contrasts with the decline in Vancouver, where housing starts were down 19 percent in 2024.
However, 2023 was a record-high year for housing starts in Vancouver. In Toronto, actual year-to-date housing starts have decreased by 20 percent compared to 2023, which was also a historically high year.
