Housing starts in Canada experienced a 17% decline in October compared to September, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 232,765 units in October, down from 279,174 in September. Tania Bourassa-Ochoa, CMHC’s deputy chief economist, attributed the drop to decreased starts in Ontario and British Columbia, although Montreal, Calgary, and Edmonton saw higher starts which balanced the national year-to-date total with the same period in the previous year.
In October, actual housing starts in areas with a population of 10,000 or more reached 19,174 units, compared to 19,763 in October 2024. The year-to-date total for these areas was 197,207 units, up from 188,660 in the same period in 2024. The six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate of total housing starts decreased to 268,907 in October, from 277,081 in September.
Bourassa-Ochoa highlighted the regional disparities in housing construction trends across the country, emphasizing that the results reflect decisions made well in advance. Rishi Sondhi, an economist at TD Economics, noted that new unit construction remains robust, particularly in the purpose-built rental market. He pointed out that while homebuilding in the rest of Canada is strong, Ontario is experiencing a slowdown in condo construction.
Sondhi predicted a further decrease in new construction starts in the near future, indicating a cooling trend in homebuilding next year due to modest population growth affecting rents and subdued pre-sales activity impacting starts in the ownership market.