Housing starts increased in April

Ottawa, May 15, 2023

The standalone monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts for all areas in Canada increased 22% in April (261,559 units) compared to March (213,780 units) according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

The monthly SAAR of total urban starts (centres 10,000 population and over) increased 26%, with 241,585 units recorded in April. Multi-unit urban starts increased 33% to 201,621 units, while single-detached urban starts decreased 2% to 39,964 units.

The Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal CMAs all recorded an increase in total SAAR housing starts in April, with Vancouver up 36%, Toronto up 54%, and Montreal up 43%. Both Toronto and Montreal recorded declines in single-detached starts that were offset by large increases in multi-unit starts, while Vancouver posted increases in both segments.

The rural starts monthly SAAR estimate was 19,974 units.

The trend in housing starts was 240,403 units in April, down 0.2% from 240,876 units in March. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.

“While both the SAAR of housing starts and the trend have returned to levels observed before the pandemic, housing starts are expected to drop significantly in 2023, before seeing some recovery in 2024 and 2025, according to our latest forecast. The expected decline is due to constraints in new construction, including labour shortages, as well as higher construction and borrowing costs for housing developers,” said Aled ab Iorwerth, CMHC's Deputy Chief Economist.

Key facts:

  • Monthly Housing Starts and Other Construction Data are accessible in English and French on our website and the CMHC Housing Market Information Portal.
  • Housing starts data is available on the eleventh business day each month. We will release the May housing starts data on June at 8:15 AM ET.
  • 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 clearer picture of upcoming new housing supply. In some situations, analyzing only SAAR data can be misleading, as the multi-unit segment largely drives the market and can vary significantly from one month to the next.
  • Definitions and methodology to better understand the foundations of the Starts and Completions and Market Absorption surveys.

As a trusted source of housing information, CMHC provides unbiased housing-related data, research, and market information to help close knowledge gaps, and deepen understanding of complex housing issues to inform future policy decisions. Housing starts facilitate the analysis of monthly, quarterly, and year-over-year activity in the new home market. The data we collect as part of our Starts and Completions and Market Absorption surveys helps us obtain a clearer picture of upcoming new housing supply and is used as part of our various housing reports.

For more information, follow us on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

Additional information:

For information on this release:

To request an interview with a CMHC market analyst, contact:

Media Relations, CMHC
media@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

April Housing Starts in Canada — All areas

Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and Over (Provinces)
  Single-Detached All Others Total
Apr. 2022 Apr. 2023 % Apr. 2022 Apr. 2023 % Apr. 2022 Apr. 2023 %
N.-L. 57 22 -61 8 6 -25 65 28 -57
P.E.I. 27 15 -44 61 42 -31 88 57 -35
N.S. 113 105 -7 27 197 ## 140 302 116
N.B. 57 45 -21 88 323 267 145 368 154
Atlantic 254 187 -26 184 568 209 438 755 72
Qc 811 402 -50 4,663 2,463 -47 5,474 2,865 -48
Ont. 1,837 1,128 -39 4,163 7,809 88 6,000 8,937 49
Man. 154 156 1 389 187 -52 543 343 -37
Sask. 153 95 -38 362 122 -66 515 217 -58
Alta. 1,434 948 -34 2,096 1,454 -31 3,530 2,402 -32
Prairies 1,741 1,199 -31 2,847 1,763 -38 4,588 2,962 -35
B.C. 886 601 -32 3,455 4,390 27 4,341 4,991 15
Canada (10,000+) 5,529 3,517 -36 15,312 16,993 11 20,841 20,510 -2

Data for 2022 based on 2016 Census Definitions and data for 2023 based on 2021 Census Definitions.

Source: CMHC

## not calculable / extreme value

Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and Over (Metropolitan Areas)
  Single-Detached All Others Total
Apr. 2022 Apr. 2023 % Apr. 2022 Apr. 2023 % Apr. 2022 Apr. 2023 %
Abbotsford – Mission 56 29 -48 147 11 -93 203 40 -80
Barrie 97 100 3 153 408 167 250 508 103
Belleville – Quinte West 27 8 -70 4 52 ## 31 60 94
Brantford 18 61 239 76 33 -57 94 94 -
Calgary 609 447 -27 902 717 -21 1,511 1,164 -23
Chilliwack 106 6 -94 255 12 -95 361 18 -95
Drummondville 59 15 -75 96 19 -80 155 34 -78
Edmonton 619 370 -40 1,048 638 -39 1,667 1,008 -40
Fredericton 7 8 14 4 4 - 11 12 9
Greater / Grand Sudbury 11 12 9 6 4 -33 17 16 -6
Guelph 15 5 -67 0 0 - 15 5 -67
Halifax 81 40 -51 18 180 ## 99 220 122
Hamilton 35 13 -63 432 544 26 467 557 19
Kamloops 27 8 -70 15 146 ## 42 154 267
Kelowna 90 52 -42 195 62 -68 285 114 -60
Kingston 11 25 127 6 236 ## 17 261 ##
Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo 77 46 -40 130 53 -59 207 99 -52
Lethbridge 32 13 -59 26 8 -69 58 21 -64
London 101 24 -76 99 190 92 200 214 7
Moncton 27 13 -52 43 173 302 70 186 166
Montréal 248 86 -65 2,751 1,151 -58 2,999 1,237 -59
Nanaimo 29 36 24 87 17 -80 116 53 -54
Oshawa 118 55 -53 309 409 32 427 464 9
Ottawa – Gatineau 370 118 -68 843 1,271 51 1,213 1,389 15
Gatineau 83 16 -81 163 447 174 246 463 88
Ottawa 287 102 -64 680 824 21 967 926 -4
Peterborough 28 10 -64 0 16 ## 28 26 -7
Québec 87 62 -29 900 319 -65 987 381 -61
Red Deer 9 6 -33 4 21 425 13 27 108
Regina 32 22 -31 64 40 -38 96 62 -35
Saguenay 35 20 -43 44 50 14 79 70 -11
St. Catharines – Niagara 110 61 -45 384 86 -78 494 147 -70
Saint John 20 18 -10 40 139 248 60 157 162
St. John's 54 18 -67 7 6 -14 61 24 -61
Saskatoon 115 66 -43 297 52 -82 412 118 -71
Sherbrooke 37 20 -46 135 111 -18 172 131 -24
Thunder Bay 0 1 ## 0 0 - 0 1 ##
Toronto 521 316 -39 1,521 4,626 204 2,042 4,942 142
Trois-Rivières 49 23 -53 232 66 -72 281 89 -68
Vancouver 335 292 -13 2,281 3,875 70 2,616 4,167 59
Victoria 80 44 -45 250 47 -81 330 91 -72
Windsor 57 19 -67 138 14 -90 195 33 -83
Winnipeg 121 136 12 359 168 -53 480 304 -37
Total 4,560 2,724 -40 14,301 15,974 12 18,861 18,698 -1

Data for 2022 based on 2016 Census Definitions and data for 2023 based on 2021 Census Definitions.

Source: CMHC

## not calculable / extreme value

Housing Start Data — Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates (SAAR) (Provinces — 10,000+)
  Single-Detached  All Others Total
Mar. 2023 Apr. 2023 % Mar. 2023 Apr. 2023 % Mar. 2023 Apr. 2023 %
N.L. 454 398 -12 24 74 208 478 472 -1
P.E.I. 275 210 -24 84 504 ## 359 714 99
N.S. 1,878 1,770 -6 1,732 2,417 40 3,610 4,187 16
N.B. 1,183 983 -17 568 3,882 ## 1,751 4,865 178
Qc 3,608 3,859 7 23,511 25,548 9 27,119 29,407 8
Ont. 16,025 14,683 -8 58,868 95,981 63 74,893 110,664 48
Man. 1,569 1,756 12 5,952 2,244 -62 7,521 4,000 -47
Sask. 844 937 11 1,896 1,464 -23 2,740 2,401 -12
Alta. 9,899 9,692 -2 15,819 17,087 8 25,718 26,779 4
B.C. 4,962 5,676 14 43,188 52,420 21 48,150 58,096 21
Canada (10,000+) 40,697 39,964 -2 151,642 201,621 33 192,339 241,585 26
Canada (All Areas) 56,056 53,843 -4 157,723 207,715 32 213,780 261,559 22

Data for 2022 based on 2016 Census Definitions and data for 2023 based on 2021 Census Definitions.

Source: CMHC

## not calculable / extreme value

Data for 2022 based on 2016 Census Definitions and data for 2023 based on 2021 Census Definitions.

Source: CMHC

## not calculable / extreme value

Date Published: May 15, 2023