Halifax a highlight as national housing starts ramp up

August 18, 2017

The trend in Canadian housing starts was 217,550 units in July, compared to 215,175 units in June 2017, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
This trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally-adjusted annual rates of housing starts.
“In July, Canada’s pace in housing construction ramped up for a seventh consecutive month,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist. “British Columbia and Alberta were the main contributors to the higher trend in housing starts. While B.C.’s construction coincides with near-record low completed and unsold units in the past few months, Alberta’s inventory of new unsold homes is ramping up, highlighting the need for managing inventories.”
Halifax proved a highlight, with July detached housing starts up 15 per cent and multiple family starts up 31 per cent from a year earlier. Year-to-date, Halifax’s detached housing market has seen the strongest number of starts since 2013, CMHC reports.
Total housing starts in the Greater Toronto Area trended lower in July, with apartment and single-detached starts mainly responsible for the decline.