Canada Housing Starts

Last Release

Dec 31, 2024

Actual

231.47

Units In

Thousand units

267.14

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Feb 17, 2025

Time to Release

30 Days 15 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
333.28 Mar 2021	90.7 Aug 1982	192.78 Thousand units	1977-2024	Canada Mortgage And Housing Corporation

In Canada, a housing start is defined as the beginning of construction work on the building where the dwelling unit will be located. This can be described in 2 ways: usually, the stage when the concrete has been poured for the whole of the footing around the structure; or an equivalent stage where a basement will not be part of the structure.

Latest Updates

Housing starts in Canada plunged by 13.35% month-over-month to 231,500 units in December 2024, the lowest level in three months and below market expectations of 245,000 units, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total urban housing starts decreased by 13.65% to 214,000 units, driven by a 14.7% drop in multi-unit urban starts to 168,515 units and a 9.54% decrease in single-detached urban starts to 45,485 units. The SAAR estimate for rural starts stood at 17,468 units. Year-to-date housing starts from January to December 2024 are up 15% in Montréal compared to 2023, reflecting a recovery from historically low levels last year. In contrast, Vancouver and Toronto remain below 2023’s historically high levels, with declines of 15% and 20% year-to-date, respectively.