Housing starts activity remained high in 2022 and December trended slightly lower

OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 17, 2023 /CNW/ - The standalone monthly SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada declined 5% in December (248,625 units) compared to November (263,022 units) according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The SAAR of total urban starts also declined 5%, with 227,708 units recorded in December. Multi-unit urban starts decreased 4% to 182,850 units, while single-detached urban starts fell 11% to 44,858 units.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 20,917 units.

Bob Dugan, Chief Economist, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CNW Group/Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation)

Housing Starts in Canada - All Areas (CNW Group/Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation)

The trend in housing starts was 269,930 units in December, down 1% from 273,801 units in November. This trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

"The 2022 year ended with a slight decline for both the monthly SAAR of housing starts and the trend at the national level in December; however, Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver all posted increases in total SAAR housing starts, with Toronto posting a significant increase of 72% in December. The rate of new construction continued at an elevated pace in 2022 overall, ending the year with actual total urban starts at 240,590 units (-1%) in Canada, similar to levels observed in 2021 (244,141 units). While these additional units will provide much needed supply on the market, demand for housing in the country will continue to grow. We need to find innovative ways to deliver more housing supply and keep building at a higher pace in the coming years in order to improve affordability," said Bob Dugan, CMHC's Chief Economist.

Regional Highlights (2022 Actual Starts):

• Housing starts in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) concluded 2022 at 45,109 units, 7.6% higher than in the prior year. This marked the highest level since 2012 (48,105 units) and the fourth highest number on record. The growth in housing starts was entirely attributable to the multi-unit segment (comprised of semi-detached homes, row homes, and apartments). There were 38,780 multi-unit starts in 2022, the largest number on record. The majority of these were apartments, of which most were condominiums.
• The level of housing starts activity in the Montreal CMA was in line with pre-pandemic levels in 2022 with 24,000 housing starts, representing a decrease of 25 % compared to 2021. The level of housing starts in 2021 was nevertheless a 30-year record. The decrease of housing starts was observed across all market types (homeowners, rentals, condos), with rental starts continuing to be the number 1 product built in the CMA, representing 61 % of all housing starts in that market.
• Housing starts in the Vancouver CMA totaled 25,983 units in 2022, unchanged overall from 2021 (26,103 units). Builders are continuing to operate near capacity and at an elevated pace, similar to the past five years. Construction of rental apartments surged due to strong demand. Meanwhile, condominium apartment starts fell as developers took a more cautious approach to the segment. Higher mortgage interest rates are limiting the budgets of homebuyers, shifting some demand from ownership to rental.

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 January housing starts data on February 15 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.

Related Links:

• Overview of residential construction in Canada's largest CMAs (HSR)
• The road ahead for the economy and housing — fall 2022 update
• Canada's housing supply shortage: skilled labour capacity
• Understanding Canada's housing supply shortages
• Household projections for Canada's major urban centres

Information on this release:

We encourage journalists to contact CMHC Media Relations and arrange to speak to our market analysts regarding the housing starts in their respective Canadian Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs).

Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and Over
				Single-Detached						All Others						Total
				December 2021		December 2022		%		December 2021		December 2022		%		December 2021		December 2022			%
Provinces (10,000+)
N.-L.				56		64		14		24		89		271		80		153			91
P.E.I.				19		23		21		19		35		84		38		58			53
N.S.				149		123		-17		607		272		-55		756		395			-48
N.B.				79		47		-41		266		89		-67		345		136			-61
Atlantic				303		257		-15		916		485		-47		1,219		742			-39
Qc				344		254		-26		3,274		1,757		-46		3,618		2,011			-44
Ont.				1,870		1,427		-24		3,576		6,927		94		5,446		8,354			53
Man.				187		107		-43		374		321		-14		561		428			-24
Sask.				125		61		-51		128		181		41		253		242			-4
Alta.				1,104		856		-22		1,398		1,263		-10		2,502		2,119			-15
Prairies				1,416		1,024		-28		1,900		1,765		-7		3,316		2,789			-16
B.C.				679		511		-25		3,519		3,939		12		4,198		4,450			6
Canada (10,000+)				4,612		3,473		-25		13,185		14,873		13		17,797		18,346			3
Metropolitan Areas
Abbotsford-Mission				18		21		17		165		113		-32		183		134			-27
Barrie				90		27		-70		62		71		15		152		98			-36
Belleville				25		13		-48		8		5		-38		33		18			-45
Brantford				153		65		-58		2		33		##		155		98			-37
Calgary				473		410		-13		682		670		-2		1,155		1,080			-6
Edmonton				445		310		-30		615		464		-25		1,060		774			-27
Greater Sudbury				8		19		138		4		19		375		12		38			217
Guelph				8		3		-63		32		13		-59		40		16			-60
Halifax				86		56		-35		495		196		-60		581		252			-57
Hamilton				41		60		46		261		83		-68		302		143			-53
Kelowna				106		54		-49		457		337		-26		563		391			-31
Kingston				28		3		-89		17		0		-100		45		3			-93
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo				78		39		-50		449		630		40		527		669			27
Lethbridge				27		15		-44		16		39		144		43		54			26
London				159		66		-58		106		140		32		265		206			-22
Moncton				17		16		-6		141		41		-71		158		57			-64
Montréal				104		62		-40		1,756		914		-48		1,860		976			-48
Oshawa				33		25		-24		19		44		132		52		69			33
Ottawa-Gatineau				223		116		-48		170		201		18		393		317			-19
Gatineau				17		1		-94		11		0		-100		28		1			-96
Ottawa				206		115		-44		159		201		26		365		316			-13
Peterborough				39		11		-72		0		0		-		39		11			-72
Québec				50		45		-10		605		303		-50		655		348			-47
Regina				33		14		-58		56		33		-41		89		47			-47
Saguenay				10		2		-80		30		2		-93		40		4			-90
St. Catharines-Niagara				62		92		48		101		141		40		163		233			43
Saint John				28		15		-46		60		0		-100		88		15			-83
St. John's				52		61		17		24		88		267		76		149			96
Saskatoon				85		41		-52		64		129		102		149		170			14
Sherbrooke				17		19		12		260		86		-67		277		105			-62
Thunder Bay				11		4		-64		0		0		-		11		4			-64
Toronto				461		565		23		1,944		5,287		172		2,405		5,852			143
Trois-Rivières				12		10		-17		131		115		-12		143		125			-13
Vancouver				222		256		15		1,963		2,869		46		2,185		3,125			43
Victoria				92		40		-57		545		230		-58		637		270			-58
Windsor				32		38		19		72		17		-76		104		55			-47
Winnipeg				149		88		-41		333		269		-19		482		357			-26
Total				3,477		2,681		-23		11,645		13,582		17		15,122		16,263			8
Data for  2021 and  2022  based on 2016 Census Definitions.
Source: CMHC Starts and Completion Survey, Market Absorption Survey
## not calculable / extreme value
Housing Start Data - Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates (SAAR)
			Single-Detached						All Others						Total
			November 2022		December 2022		%		November 2022		December 2022		%		November 2022		December 2022		%
Provinces (10,000+)
N.L.			318		626		97		42		1,164		##		360		1,790		397
P.E.I.			224		302		35		1,008		420		-58		1,232		722		-41
N.S.			1,430		1,349		-6		2,430		3,258		34		3,860		4,607		19
N.B.			899		596		-34		6,663		1,074		-84		7,562		1,670		-78
Qc			5,362		3,581		-33		36,283		23,071		-36		41,645		26,652		-36
Ont.			21,331		18,356		-14		75,998		85,207		12		97,329		103,563		6
Man.			2,320		1,444		-38		8,052		3,852		-52		10,372		5,296		-49
Sask.			1,100		706		-36		1,368		2,172		59		2,468		2,878		17
Alta.			10,356		10,690		3		20,495		15,259		-26		30,851		25,949		-16
B.C.			7,020		7,208		3		37,864		47,373		25		44,884		54,581		22
Canada (10,000+)			50,360		44,858		-11		190,203		182,850		-4		240,563		227,708		-5
Canada (All Areas)			65,294		58,536		-10		197,727		190,089		-4		263,022		248,625		-5
Metropolitan Areas
Abbotsford-Mission			439		282		-36		264		1,356		414		703		1,638		133
Barrie			582		431		-26		5,880		852		-86		6,462		1,283		-80
Belleville			260		179		-31		48		60		25		308		239		-22
Brantford			849		1,213		43		1,236		396		-68		2,085		1,609		-23
Calgary			3,896		4,865		25		16,092		8,040		-50		19,988		12,905		-35
Edmonton			5,107		4,014		-21		3,528		5,568		58		8,635		9,582		11
Greater Sudbury			43		291		##		144		228		58		187		519		178
Guelph			100		54		-46		480		156		-68		580		210		-64
Halifax			647		629		-3		1,704		2,352		38		2,351		2,981		27
Hamilton			670		954		42		10,092		996		-90		10,762		1,950		-82
Kelowna			447		514		15		2,940		4,044		38		3,387		4,558		35
Kingston			109		37		-66		72		0		-100		181		37		-80
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo			1,204		502		-58		11,040		7,560		-32		12,244		8,062		-34
Lethbridge			149		181		21		84		468		457		233		649		179
London			1,122		894		-20		2,580		1,680		-35		3,702		2,574		-30
Moncton			230		255		11		3,636		492		-86		3,866		747		-81
Montréal			1,343		1,122		-16		10,475		10,930		4		11,818		12,052		2
Oshawa			938		562		-40		4,536		528		-88		5,474		1,090		-80
Ottawa-Gatineau			2,693		1,635		-39		11,964		2,412		-80		14,657		4,047		-72
Gatineau			665		13		-98		7,908		0		-100		8,573		13		-100
Ottawa			2,028		1,622		-20		4,056		2,412		-41		6,084		4,034		-34
Peterborough			281		170		-40		0		0		-		281		170		-40
Québec			1,045		826		-21		11,100		3,636		-67		12,145		4,462		-63
Regina			219		168		-23		348		396		14		567		564		-1
Saguenay			226		32		-86		96		24		-75		322		56		-83
St. Catharines-Niagara			1,415		1,106		-22		1,272		1,692		33		2,687		2,798		4
Saint John			251		173		-31		1,548		0		-100		1,799		173		-90
St. John's			284		567		100		24		1,056		##		308		1,623		427
Saskatoon			799		496		-38		792		1,548		95		1,591		2,044		28
Sherbrooke			334		254		-24		2,292		1,032		-55		2,626		1,286		-51
Thunder Bay			112		70		-38		24		0		-100		136		70		-49
Toronto			7,736		8,066		4		33,756		63,444		88		41,492		71,510		72
Trois-Rivières			170		213		25		516		1,380		167		686		1,593		132
Vancouver			4,051		3,630		-10		23,976		34,428		44		28,027		38,058		36
Victoria			586		535		-9		6,696		2,760		-59		7,282		3,295		-55
Windsor			537		497		-7		948		204		-78		1,485		701		-53
Winnipeg			2,155		1,250		-42		6,996		3,228		-54		9,151		4,478		-51
Data for  2021 and  2022  based on 2016 Census Definitions.
Source: CMHC Starts and Completion Survey, Market Absorption Survey
## not calculable / extreme value

SOURCE Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Media Relations, CMHC, [email protected]