Housing Starts for July 2024

Ottawa, August 16, 2024

The total monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of housing starts for all areas in Canada increased 16% in July (279,509 units) compared to June (241,643), according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

The six-month trend in housing starts increased 3.2% from 247,840 units in June to 255,783 units in July. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.

In Canadian urban centres with a population of 10,000 or greater, there have been 132,823 actual housing starts year-to-date (January – July) in 2024. This compares to 123,593 for the same time period in 2023, meaning actual housing starts are currently 7.5% higher in 2024.

Quote:

“Both the SAAR and Trend of housing starts increased in July. This was due to growth in actual year-over-year starts, driven by higher multi-unit starts, particularly in Calgary and Ottawa. As the national housing shortage continues, developers remain focused on multi-unit construction in Canada’s major centres.” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s Chief Economist.

Key facts:

The monthly SAAR of total urban (centres 10,000 population and over) housing starts was 17% higher at 261,134 units recorded. Multi-unit urban starts increased 21% to 217,306 units, while single-detached urban starts increased 2% to 43,828 units.
The rural starts monthly SAAR estimate was 18,375 units.
Actual year-to-date housing starts between January and July 2024 are up 47% in Montreal from the same period last year, showing some recovery from a historically low year for new home construction in 2023. In Vancouver, actual starts are down 18% in 2024 compared to 2023, but it’s important to note that 2023 was a record year for new home construction in the region. In Toronto, actual year-to-date housing starts are down 9.5% when compared to the same period in 2023.
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 August housing starts data on September 17 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 to 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.

CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers objective housing research and information to all levels of governments, consumers and the housing industry.

Information on this release:

To request an interview with a CMHC economist, contact:
Media Relations, CMHC
media@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

July housing starts in Canada — all areas

Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and Over (Provinces)
	Single-Detached			All Others			Total
	July 2023	July 2024	%	July 2023	July 2024	%	July 2023	July 2024	%
N.-L.	59	83	41	19	24	26	78	107	37
P.E.I.	21	46	119	51	151	196	72	197	174
N.S.	162	211	30	245	318	30	407	529	30
N.B.	103	151	47	298	217	-27	401	368	-8
Atlantic	345	491	42	613	710	16	958	1,201	25
Qc	442	450	2	2,263	2,515	11	2,705	2,965	10
Ont.	1,431	1,269	-11	6,861	7,698	12	8,292	8,967	8
Man.	139	152	9	646	488	-24	785	640	-18
Sask.	85	120	41	378	485	28	463	605	31
Alta.	1,146	1,469	28	2,220	2,883	30	3,366	4,352	29
Prairies	1,370	1,741	27	3,244	3,856	19	4,614	5,597	21
B.C.	434	396	-9	3,437	3,446	0	3,871	3,842	-1
Canada (10,000+)	4,022	4,347	8	16,418	18,225	11	20,440	22,572	10

Data for 2023 and 2024 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
	July 2023	July 2024	%	July 2023	July 2024	%	July 2023	July 2024	%
Abbotsford – Mission	16	20	25	14	29	107	30	49	63
Barrie	55	36	-35	61	62	2	116	98	-16
Belleville – Quinte West	45	14	-69	4	10	150	49	24	-51
Brantford	24	23	-4	41	2	-95	65	25	-62
Calgary	542	625	15	1,079	1,846	71	1,621	2,471	52
Chilliwack	12	18	50	7	9	29	19	27	42
Drummondville	21	15	-29	33	209	##	54	224	315
Edmonton	443	706	59	1,029	902	-12	1,472	1,608	9
Fredericton	41	53	29	186	7	-96	227	60	-74
Greater / Grand Sudbury	35	2	-94	87	13	-85	122	15	-88
Guelph	8	8	-	185	107	-42	193	115	-40
Halifax	76	92	21	209	237	13	285	329	15
Hamilton	27	16	-41	33	299	##	60	315	425
Kamloops	0	3	##	0	21	##	0	24	##
Kelowna	32	36	13	56	390	##	88	426	384
Kingston	35	14	-60	368	11	-97	403	25	-94
Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo	60	27	-55	223	212	-5	283	239	-16
Lethbridge	27	8	-70	3	4	33	30	12	-60
London	82	35	-57	60	569	##	142	604	325
Moncton	30	46	53	97	167	72	127	213	68
Montréal	118	98	-17	854	669	-22	972	767	-21
Nanaimo	6	11	83	9	36	300	15	47	213
Oshawa	97	28	-71	67	43	-36	164	71	-57
Ottawa – Gatineau	137	162	18	779	1,098	41	916	1,260	38
Gatineau	47	42	-11	85	301	254	132	343	160
Ottawa	90	120	33	694	797	15	784	917	17
Peterborough	10	13	30	0	0	-	10	13	30
Québec	59	59	-	334	573	72	393	632	61
Red Deer	4	16	300	6	0	-100	10	16	60
Regina	25	25	-	10	121	##	35	146	317
Saguenay	17	19	12	246	23	-91	263	42	-84
St. Catharines – Niagara	46	66	43	101	85	-16	147	151	3
Saint John	17	32	88	4	27	##	21	59	181
St. John's	34	58	71	13	23	77	47	81	72
Saskatoon	54	88	63	308	358	16	362	446	23
Sherbrooke	22	19	-14	223	51	-77	245	70	-71
Thunder Bay	8	11	38	0	64	##	8	75	##
Toronto	472	502	6	4,728	5,021	6	5,200	5,523	6
Trois-Rivières	26	22	-15	129	38	-71	155	60	-61
Vancouver	211	187	-11	2,751	2,329	-15	2,962	2,516	-15
Victoria	31	24	-23	428	329	-23	459	353	-23
Windsor	27	56	107	23	130	465	50	186	272
Winnipeg	111	121	9	621	432	-30	732	553	-24
Total	3,143	3,414	9	15,409	16,556	7	18,552	19,970	8

Data for 2023 and 2024 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
	June 2024	July 2024	%	June 2024	July 2024	%	June 2024	July 2024	%
N.L.	729	694	-5	389	274	-30	1,118	968	-13
P.E.I.	102	306	200	456	1,812	297	558	2,118	280
N.S.	1,960	1,886	-4	9,185	3,811	-59	11,145	5,697	-49
N.B.	929	1,174	26	4,084	2,511	-39	5,013	3,685	-26
Qc	3,800	4,030	6	42,146	31,052	-26	45,946	35,082	-24
Ont.	11,953	12,625	6	53,141	90,710	71	65,094	103,335	59
Man.	1,633	1,541	-6	6,756	5,856	-13	8,389	7,397	-12
Sask.	1,600	1,297	-19	2,604	5,820	124	4,204	7,117	69
Alta.	15,570	15,899	2	26,375	34,046	29	41,945	49,945	19
B.C.	4,828	4,376	-9	34,108	41,414	21	38,936	45,790	18
Canada (10,000+)	43,104	43,828	2	179,244	217,306	21	222,348	261,134	17
Canada (All Areas)	53,134	54,189	2	188,511	225,321	20	241,643	279,509	16

Data for 2023 and 2024 based on 2021 Census Definitions.

Source: CMHC

## not calculable / extreme value

Housing Start Data — Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates (SAAR) (Metropolitan Areas)
	Single-Detached			All Others			Total
	June 2024	July 2024	%	June 2024	July 2024	%	June 2024	July 2024	%
Abbotsford – Mission	149	296	99	348	348	-	497	644	30
Barrie	342	322	-6	456	744	63	798	1,066	34
Belleville – Quinte West	166	144	-13	96	120	25	262	264	1
Brantford	144	338	135	48	24	-50	192	362	89
Calgary	7,545	6,973	-8	14,964	22,152	48	22,509	29,125	29
Chilliwack	154	215	40	154	108	-30	1,402	323	-77
Drummondville	138	136	-1	1,020	2,508	146	1,158	2,644	128
Edmonton	6,949	7,638	10	8,856	10,824	22	15,805	18,462	17
Fredericton	254	420	65	516	84	-84	770	504	-35
Greater / Grand Sudbury	5	-76	##	0	156	##	5	80	##
Guelph	67	85	27	360	1,284	257	427	1,369	221
Halifax	685	837	22	8,340	2,844	-66	9,025	3,681	-59
Hamilton	177	157	-11	72	3,588	##	249	3,745	##
Kamloops	67	30	-55	72	252	250	139	282	103
Kelowna	320	416	30	6,864	4,680	-32	7,184	5,096	-29
Kingston	239	124	-48	84	132	57	323	256	-21
Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo	390	362	-7	6,456	2,544	-61	6,846	2,906	-58
Lethbridge	151	62	-59	180	48	-73	331	110	-67
London	743	332	-55	1,548	6,828	341	2,291	7,160	213
Moncton	212	303	43	2,364	2,004	-15	2,576	2,307	-10
Montréal	918	982	7	34,049	7,977	-77	34,967	8,959	-74
Nanaimo	179	166	-7	744	432	-42	923	598	-35
Oshawa	300	244	-19	2,568	516	-80	2,868	760	-74
Ottawa – Gatineau	2,126	1,589	-25	5,844	13,176	125	7,970	14,765	85
Gatineau	648	332	-49	1,284	3,612	181	1,932	3,944	104
Ottawa	1,478	1,257	-15	4,560	9,564	110	6,038	10,821	79
Peterborough	492	106	-78	288	0	-100	780	106	-86
Québec	593	537	-9	9,132	6,876	-25	9,725	7,413	-24
Red Deer	68	149	119	60	0	-100	128	149	16
Regina	315	234	-26	1,092	1,452	33	1,407	1,686	20
Saguenay	163	183	12	288	276	-4	451	459	2
St. Catharines – Niagara	542	683	26	396	1,020	158	938	1,703	82
Saint John	286	303	6	816	324	-60	1,102	627	-43
St. John's	642	551	-14	396	276	-30	1,038	827	-20
Saskatoon	1,110	999	-10	1,512	4,296	184	2,622	5,295	102
Sherbrooke	244	199	-18	2,328	612	-74	2,572	811	-68
Thunder Bay	65	72	11	72	768	##	137	840	##
Toronto	4,125	4,803	16	30,276	60,252	99	34,401	65,055	89
Trois-Rivières	122	207	70	960	456	-53	1,082	663	-39
Vancouver	2,951	2,165	-27	17,604	27,948	59	20,555	30,113	46
Victoria	280	271	-3	3,744	3,948	5	4,024	4,219	5
Windsor	474	516	9	3,660	1,560	-57	4,134	2,076	-50
Winnipeg	1,290	1,257	-3	6,588	5,184	-21	7,878	6,441	-18