Canadian housing starts trendline posts solid 2.8% gain in July

Posted on August 18, 2023   |  

Canada's housing construction maintained its momentum with a 2.8% rise in July starts, marking 2 consecutive months of growth.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reports a trendline of 242,525 units, a robust increase from June's 235,819 units.

The trend measure, a 6-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts, underscores the encouraging nationwide trend.

The influence of multi-unit projects initiated in preceding months, suggests the potential lag of recent interest rate hikes on housing starts.

Urban areas with a population over 10,000 see a total SAAR housing start decrease of 11%, with a 12% drop in multi-unit urban starts and a 4% slip in single-detached urban starts.