CMHC reports a 1 percent decrease in April's housing starts, with urban multi-unit declines driving the downturn
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has reported a slight decline in the total monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of housing starts across Canada.
There was a 1 percent decrease from March to April, with the figures totaling 240,229 units compared to 242,267 units.
The six-month trend also showed a decline, with housing starts dropping 2.2 percent from 243,907 units in March to 238,585 units in April. This trend reflects a six-month moving average of the SAAR of total housing starts nationwide.
April witnessed a significant reduction in the actual number of housing starts in urban centres with populations of 10,000 and over, decreasing by 9 percent to 18,486 units from 20,231 units in April 2023.
This decrease was primarily due to an 11 percent drop-in multi-unit starts, although single-detached starts saw a 3 percent increase.
Major Canadian cities experienced declines in April's housing starts, with Toronto down 38 percent, Vancouver falling 30 percent, and Montreal decreasing 3 percent compared to the same month the previous year.
Bob Dugan, CMHC's chief economist, explained, “Both the SAAR and Trend of housing starts decreased in April as did the actual number of starts, largely driven by fewer multi-unit starts, particularly in Ontario.”
He continued, “The multi-unit volatility observed in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montréal in recent months is unsurprising as we continue to see last year's challenging borrowing conditions reflected in multi-unit housing starts numbers. We expect to see continued downward pressure in these large centres.”
Additional data highlights include:
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The monthly SAAR for total urban housing starts remained stable at 220,123 units. While multi-unit urban starts decreased by 1 percent to 178,462 units, single-detached urban starts increased by 2 percent to 41,661 units.
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The rural starts monthly SAAR was estimated at 20,106 units.
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Significant variations were noted in Montreal with a 41 percent increase in total SAAR housing starts, driven by a 50 percent rise in multi-unit starts. In contrast, Vancouver saw a 17 percent decline, and Toronto experienced a 12 percent fall in housing starts, affecting both multi-unit and single-detached categories.
CMHC provides detailed housing starts data, accessible in both English and French, on their website and through the CMHC Housing Market Information Portal.
