The trend in housing starts was 202,279 units in March 2019, compared to 202,039 units in February 2019, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.
“The national trend in housing starts was essentially unchanged in March, remaining near its historical average,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist. “The trend has been very stable since the final quarter of 2018, following a period of steady declines from the historically elevated levels registered in recent years. Higher mortgage rates combined with still-favourable, but less stimulative economic conditions have contributed to moderation in demand for new homes in urban centres.”

The Toronto CMA total housing starts trend rose in March as higher trending condominium apartment starts offset the decline in low-rise starts. Rising home-ownership costs dampened pre-construction sales for low-rise homes in 2018. Conversely, condominium apartment pre-construction sales remained strong in the last two years given their relative affordability. As a result, condominium apartment starts continue to dominate Toronto CMA new housing construction in 2019.
CMHC uses the trend measure as a complement to the monthly SAAR of housing starts to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and obtain a more complete picture of Canada’s housing market. In some situations, analyzing only SAAR data can be misleading, as they are largely driven by the multi-unit segment of the market which can vary significantly from one month to the next.
The standalone monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas in Canada was 192,527 units in March, up 15.8 per cent from 166,290 units in February. The SAAR of urban starts increased by 17 per cent in March to 178,033 units. Multiple urban starts increased by 18.6 percent to 135,894 units in March while single-detached urban starts increased by 12.1 per cent to 42,139 units.
Preliminary Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and Over |
|||||||||
Single-Detached |
All Others |
Total |
|||||||
March 2018 |
March 2019 |
% |
March 2018 |
March 2019 |
% |
March 2018 |
March 2019 |
% |
|
Provinces (10,000+) |
|||||||||
N.-L. |
13 |
6 |
-54 |
93 |
1 |
-99 |
106 |
7 |
-93 |
P.E.I. |
12 |
2 |
-83 |
6 |
0 |
-100 |
18 |
2 |
-89 |
N.S. |
99 |
51 |
-48 |
25 |
304 |
## |
124 |
355 |
186 |
N.B. |
7 |
5 |
-29 |
3 |
2 |
-33 |
10 |
7 |
-30 |
Atlantic |
131 |
64 |
-51 |
127 |
307 |
142 |
258 |
371 |
44 |
Qc |
388 |
384 |
-1 |
2,449 |
3,502 |
43 |
2,837 |
3,886 |
37 |
Ont. |
1,458 |
833 |
-43 |
3,435 |
3,408 |
-1 |
4,893 |
4,241 |
-13 |
Man. |
180 |
161 |
-11 |
371 |
246 |
-34 |
551 |
407 |
-26 |
Sask. |
79 |
51 |
-35 |
24 |
51 |
113 |
103 |
102 |
-1 |
Alta. |
801 |
534 |
-33 |
1,091 |
718 |
-34 |
1,892 |
1,252 |
-34 |
Prairies |
1,060 |
746 |
-30 |
1,486 |
1,015 |
-32 |
2,546 |
1,761 |
-31 |
B.C. |
666 |
517 |
-22 |
3,080 |
2,080 |
-32 |
3,746 |
2,597 |
-31 |
Canada (10,000+) |
3,703 |
2,544 |
-31 |
10,577 |
10,312 |
-3 |
14,280 |
12,856 |
-10 |
Metropolitan Areas |
|||||||||
Abbotsford-Mission |
19 |
23 |
21 |
79 |
125 |
58 |
98 |
148 |
51 |
Barrie |
35 |
5 |
-86 |
26 |
8 |
-69 |
61 |
13 |
-79 |
Belleville |
13 |
20 |
54 |
6 |
0 |
-100 |
19 |
20 |
5 |
Brantford |
32 |
44 |
38 |
4 |
8 |
100 |
36 |
52 |
44 |
Calgary |
306 |
186 |
-39 |
525 |
334 |
-36 |
831 |
520 |
-37 |
Edmonton |
368 |
260 |
-29 |
280 |
260 |
-7 |
648 |
520 |
-20 |
Greater Sudbury |
0 |
0 |
– |
0 |
0 |
– |
0 |
0 |
– |
Guelph |
10 |
13 |
30 |
60 |
0 |
-100 |
70 |
13 |
-81 |
Halifax |
41 |
39 |
-5 |
16 |
299 |
## |
57 |
338 |
493 |
Hamilton |
19 |
41 |
116 |
58 |
136 |
134 |
77 |
177 |
130 |
Kelowna |
53 |
22 |
-58 |
108 |
21 |
-81 |
161 |
43 |
-73 |
Kingston |
24 |
3 |
-88 |
4 |
33 |
## |
28 |
36 |
29 |
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo |
102 |
54 |
-47 |
319 |
63 |
-80 |
421 |
117 |
-72 |
Lethbridge |
26 |
16 |
-38 |
15 |
26 |
73 |
41 |
42 |
2 |
London |
122 |
74 |
-39 |
23 |
115 |
400 |
145 |
189 |
30 |
Moncton |
2 |
3 |
50 |
2 |
0 |
-100 |
4 |
3 |
-25 |
Montréal |
154 |
143 |
-7 |
1,475 |
2,434 |
65 |
1,629 |
2,577 |
58 |
Oshawa |
105 |
26 |
-75 |
66 |
32 |
-52 |
171 |
58 |
-66 |
Ottawa-Gatineau |
201 |
169 |
-16 |
241 |
551 |
129 |
442 |
720 |
63 |
Gatineau |
23 |
37 |
61 |
32 |
406 |
## |
55 |
443 |
## |
Ottawa |
178 |
132 |
-26 |
209 |
145 |
-31 |
387 |
277 |
-28 |
Peterborough |
8 |
18 |
125 |
0 |
40 |
## |
8 |
58 |
## |
Québec |
71 |
43 |
-39 |
482 |
181 |
-62 |
553 |
224 |
-59 |
Regina |
36 |
18 |
-50 |
6 |
39 |
## |
42 |
57 |
36 |
Saguenay |
6 |
4 |
-33 |
16 |
2 |
-88 |
22 |
6 |
-73 |
St. Catharines-Niagara |
45 |
110 |
144 |
120 |
133 |
11 |
165 |
243 |
47 |
Saint John |
3 |
1 |
-67 |
0 |
0 |
– |
3 |
1 |
-67 |
St. John’s |
10 |
4 |
-60 |
93 |
0 |
-100 |
103 |
4 |
-96 |
Saskatoon |
38 |
31 |
-18 |
13 |
8 |
-38 |
51 |
39 |
-24 |
Sherbrooke |
28 |
45 |
61 |
118 |
279 |
136 |
146 |
324 |
122 |
Thunder Bay |
0 |
0 |
– |
0 |
0 |
– |
0 |
0 |
– |
Toronto |
501 |
98 |
-80 |
2,376 |
2,522 |
6 |
2,877 |
2,620 |
-9 |
Trois-Rivières |
9 |
6 |
-33 |
10 |
23 |
130 |
19 |
29 |
53 |
Vancouver |
326 |
263 |
-19 |
2,319 |
1,443 |
-38 |
2,645 |
1,706 |
-36 |
Victoria |
50 |
51 |
2 |
254 |
126 |
-50 |
304 |
177 |
-42 |
Windsor |
22 |
16 |
-27 |
8 |
18 |
125 |
30 |
34 |
13 |
Winnipeg |
155 |
135 |
-13 |
335 |
197 |
-41 |
490 |
332 |
-32 |
Total |
2,940 |
1,984 |
-33 |
9,457 |
9,456 |
0 |
12,397 |
11,440 |
-8 |
Data based on 2016 Census Definitions. |
|||||||||
Source: Market Analysis Centre, CMHC
|
|||||||||
## not calculable / extreme value |
Preliminary Housing Start Data – Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates (SAAR) |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Single-Detached |
All Others |
Total |
|||||||||||||||||||
February 2019 |
March 2019 |
% |
February 2019 |
March 2019 |
% |
February 2019 |
March 2019 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Provinces (10,000+) |
|||||||||||||||||||||
N.L. |
346 |
373 |
8 |
113 |
43 |
-62 |
459 |
416 |
-9 |
||||||||||||
P.E.I. |
293 |
81 |
-72 |
0 |
0 |
– |
293 |
81 |
-72 |
||||||||||||
N.S. |
948 |
924 |
-3 |
2,381 |
3,732 |
57 |
3,329 |
4,656 |
40 |
||||||||||||
N.B. |
506 |
522 |
3 |
13 |
156 |
## |
519 |
678 |
31 |
||||||||||||
Qc |
6,072 |
6,165 |
2 |
27,342 |
50,129 |
83 |
33,414 |
56,294 |
68 |
||||||||||||
Ont. |
12,473 |
14,955 |
20 |
41,269 |
43,972 |
7 |
53,742 |
58,927 |
10 |
||||||||||||
Man. |
2,068 |
2,166 |
5 |
2,892 |
2,952 |
2 |
4,960 |
5,118 |
3 |
||||||||||||
Sask. |
896 |
900 |
0 |
336 |
612 |
82 |
1,232 |
1,512 |
23 |
||||||||||||
Alta. |
7,184 |
8,756 |
22 |
10,917 |
9,102 |
-17 |
18,101 |
17,858 |
-1 |
||||||||||||
B.C. |
6,818 |
7,297 |
7 |
29,314 |
25,196 |
-14 |
36,132 |
32,493 |
-10 |
||||||||||||
Canada (10,000+) |
37,604 |
42,139 |
12 |
114,577 |
135,894 |
19 |
152,181 |
178,033 |
17 |
||||||||||||
Canada (All Areas) |
47,930 |
52,853 |
10 |
118,360 |
139,675 |
18 |
166,290 |
192,527 |
16 |
||||||||||||
Metropolitan Areas |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Abbotsford-Mission |
303 |
370 |
22 |
1,200 |
1,500 |
25 |
1,503 |
1,870 |
24 |
||||||||||||
Barrie |
169 |
212 |
25 |
864 |
96 |
-89 |
1,033 |
308 |
-70 |
||||||||||||
Belleville |
309 |
643 |
108 |
0 |
0 |
– |
309 |
643 |
108 |
||||||||||||
Brantford |
253 |
378 |
49 |
168 |
96 |
-43 |
421 |
474 |
13 |
||||||||||||
Calgary |
2,973 |
2,899 |
-2 |
4,740 |
4,008 |
-15 |
7,713 |
6,907 |
-10 |
||||||||||||
Edmonton |
3,153 |
3,778 |
20 |
4,596 |
3,120 |
-32 |
7,749 |
6,898 |
-11 |
||||||||||||
Greater Sudbury |
133 |
73 |
-45 |
0 |
0 |
– |
133 |
73 |
-45 |
||||||||||||
Guelph |
82 |
174 |
112 |
2,040 |
0 |
-100 |
2,122 |
174 |
-92 |
||||||||||||
Halifax |
797 |
817 |
3 |
2,172 |
3,588 |
65 |
2,969 |
4,405 |
48 |
||||||||||||
Hamilton |
472 |
495 |
5 |
1,476 |
1,632 |
11 |
1,948 |
2,127 |
9 |
||||||||||||
Kelowna |
223 |
335 |
50 |
96 |
252 |
163 |
319 |
587 |
84 |
||||||||||||
Kingston |
70 |
65 |
-7 |
0 |
396 |
## |
70 |
461 |
## |
||||||||||||
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo |
849 |
640 |
-25 |
288 |
756 |
163 |
1,137 |
1,396 |
23 |
||||||||||||
Lethbridge |
93 |
264 |
184 |
528 |
312 |
-41 |
621 |
576 |
-7 |
||||||||||||
London |
910 |
1,157 |
27 |
276 |
1,380 |
400 |
1,186 |
2,537 |
114 |
||||||||||||
Moncton |
174 |
284 |
63 |
0 |
0 |
– |
174 |
284 |
63 |
||||||||||||
Montréal |
2,149 |
2,327 |
8 |
12,757 |
28,971 |
127 |
14,906 |
31,298 |
110 |
||||||||||||
Oshawa |
361 |
355 |
-2 |
228 |
384 |
68 |
589 |
739 |
25 |
||||||||||||
Ottawa-Gatineau |
2,648 |
3,087 |
17 |
8,724 |
6,612 |
-24 |
11,372 |
9,699 |
-15 |
||||||||||||
Gatineau |
263 |
618 |
135 |
1,464 |
4,872 |
233 |
1,727 |
5,490 |
218 |
||||||||||||
Ottawa |
2,385 |
2,469 |
4 |
7,260 |
1,740 |
-76 |
9,645 |
4,209 |
-56 |
||||||||||||
Peterborough |
103 |
815 |
## |
0 |
480 |
## |
103 |
1,295 |
## |
||||||||||||
Québec |
627 |
547 |
-13 |
996 |
2,172 |
118 |
1,623 |
2,719 |
68 |
||||||||||||
Regina |
269 |
236 |
-12 |
108 |
468 |
333 |
377 |
704 |
87 |
||||||||||||
Saguenay |
127 |
136 |
7 |
168 |
24 |
-86 |
295 |
160 |
-46 |
||||||||||||
St. Catharines-Niagara |
849 |
1,953 |
130 |
1,272 |
1,596 |
25 |
2,121 |
3,549 |
67 |
||||||||||||
Saint John |
79 |
88 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
– |
79 |
88 |
11 |
||||||||||||
St. John’s |
239 |
228 |
-5 |
108 |
0 |
-100 |
347 |
228 |
-34 |
||||||||||||
Saskatoon |
531 |
625 |
18 |
180 |
96 |
-47 |
711 |
721 |
1 |
||||||||||||
Sherbrooke |
405 |
492 |
21 |
3,492 |
3,348 |
-4 |
3,897 |
3,840 |
-1 |
||||||||||||
Thunder Bay |
1,435 |
127 |
-91 |
0 |
0 |
– |
1,435 |
127 |
-91 |
||||||||||||
Toronto |
3,331 |
1,936 |
-42 |
16,836 |
30,264 |
80 |
20,167 |
32,200 |
60 |
||||||||||||
Trois-Rivières |
7 |
125 |
## |
360 |
276 |
-23 |
367 |
401 |
9 |
||||||||||||
Vancouver |
3,530 |
3,644 |
3 |
21,492 |
17,316 |
-19 |
25,022 |
20,960 |
-16 |
||||||||||||
Victoria |
537 |
572 |
7 |
3,588 |
1,512 |
-58 |
4,125 |
2,084 |
-49 |
||||||||||||
Windsor |
327 |
399 |
22 |
504 |
216 |
-57 |
831 |
615 |
-26 |
||||||||||||
Winnipeg |
1,663 |
1,668 |
0 |
2,304 |
2,364 |
3 |
3,967 |
4,032 |
2 |
||||||||||||
Data based on 2016 Census Definitions. |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Source: Market Analysis Centre, CMHC |
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