Canada’s housing starts pace declined in December, ending year flat

By
Millicent Wong
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Canada's housing starts pace declined in December, ending year flat

The pace of housing starts slowed in December, with the seasonally adjusted annual rate falling five percent for both overall and urban housing starts compared to November figures, according to monthly data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

The agency’s Housing Supply Report, released Jan. 17, showed that single-family housing in the city is seeing the largest decline, down 11 percent.

The six-month trend also fell slightly, one percent less than in November.

Still, the agency’s chief economist Bob Dugan noted that activity remained strong in 2022.

“The overall new construction rate continued at an increased pace in 2022, ending the year with actual urban housing starts at 240,590 units (down one percent) in Canada, similar to 2021 (244,141 units),” he said in the Report.

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“While these additional units will provide much-needed supply in the market, demand for housing in the country will continue to grow,” Dugan said. “We need to find innovative ways to provide more housing and build at a faster pace in the coming years to improve affordability.”

Actual housing starts in Toronto rose 7.6 percent year over year to 45,109 units, the highest since 2012. Housing starts in Montreal’s CMA fell 25 percent from a 30-year record in 2021, while housing starts in Vancouver remained unchanged year.

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