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Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) announced the country’s April housing starts stabilized at 195,064 units from 196,103 in March.
The total is based on a trend that is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAARs) of housing starts. CMHC uses the trend measure as a complement to the monthly SAAR of housing starts to account for swings in monthly estimates and to get a better picture of the market as a whole.
“While the trend for Canada remained stable in April, there were offsetting differences at the local level, notably in Vancouver and Montréal,” said CMHC’s chief economist, Bob Dugan. “Condominium construction is slowing down in Montreal as builders are managing inventories by channeling demand to units that have been completed, but remain unsold.”
Standalone SAAR for all areas in Canada was 191,512 units in April, urban starts declined by 4.6 per cent from March, multiple urban starts decreased by four per cent, and single-detached urban starts fell 5.8 per cent. SAAR of urban starts rose in the Prairies, British Columbia, and Atlantic Canada, but decreased in Ontario and Québec.
Read preliminary housing starts data here.
