Housing starts up 2% in 2024 from 2023

OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 16, 2025 /CNW/ - Nationally, actual 2024 housing starts were up 2% in centres of 10,000 population and over, with 227,697 units recorded, compared to 223,513 in 2023, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Combined with an estimated 17,423 actual rural housing starts, the total for all areas in Canada in 2024 was 245,120, also up 2% compared to 2023. This increase is primarily explained by historically high rental construction levels and overall increased starts in Alberta, Québec, and the Atlantic provinces.

Annual and monthly housing starts are now available.

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

Housing starts up 2% in 2024 from 2023 (CNW Group/Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC))

Canada's six largest Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) saw a combined 3% year-over-year decrease from 2023 (Table 1), driven by lower starts levels in Vancouver, Toronto, and Ottawa where multi-unit starts fell due to weak pre-construction condominium sales. Calgary, Edmonton, and Montréal saw higher starts activity in 2024, particularly in the multi-unit segment, driven by high rental starts.

Monthly housing starts:

The six-month trend in housing starts was flat (-0.7%) in December at 242,637 units. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.

The total monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas in Canada decreased 13% in December (231,468 units) compared to November (267,140 units).

Canada's centres with a population of 10,000 or greater saw 16,531 actual starts in December, pushing the 2024 total up to 227,697. This compares to 223,513 for the same period in 2023, a 2% increase.

Quote:

"Canada's urban centres saw an uptick in housing starts in 2024 compared to last year, marking the third-highest year on record." said Mathieu Laberge, CMHC's Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President, Market Insights. "While this annual increase shows some signs of progress, Canada still needs significantly higher supply growth to restore affordability in urban centres. Last Spring, we estimated Canada could build up to 400,000 new housing units annually, based on current resources devoted to residential construction."

Key Facts:

• The monthly SAAR of total urban (centres 10,000 population and over) housing starts was 14% lower (214,000 units). Multi-unit urban starts decreased 15% (168,515 units), while single-detached urban starts decreased 10% (45,485 units).
• The rural starts monthly SAAR estimate was 17,468 units.
• 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 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.

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 plays a critical role as a national convenor to promote stability and sustainability in Canada's housing finance system. Our mortgage insurance products support access to home ownership and the creation and maintenance of rental supply. We actively support the Government of Canada in delivering on its commitment to make housing more affordable. Our research and data help inform housing policy. By facilitating cooperation between all levels of government, private and non-profit sectors, we contribute to advancing housing affordability, equity, and climate compatibility. 

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Related Links:

• Housing starts for November 2024
• Housing starts for 2023
• 2024 Rental Market Report
• Fall 2024 Housing Supply Report
• Higher rates hindered housing starts in 2023
• Canada's potential capacity for housing construction

Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and Over
January - December 2023 - 2024
Area	Single-Detached			All Others			Total
Province
	2023	2024	%	2023	2024	%	2023	2024	%
N.L.	455	644	42	161	370	130	616	1,014	65
P.E.I.	199	267	34	598	1,067	78	797	1,334	67
N.S.	1,521	1,609	6	4,785	5,054	6	6,306	6,663	6
N.B.	909	974	7	3,065	4,013	31	3,974	4,987	25
Atlantic	3,084	3,494	13	8,609	10,504	22	11,693	13,998	20
Que.	4,162	4,537	9	28,428	36,684	29	32,590	41,221	26
Ont.	15,089	13,161	-13	70,681	58,957	-17	85,770	72,118	-16
Man.	1,685	1,714	2	4,450	4,450	-	6,135	6,164	0
Sask.	1,052	1,337	27	3,156	2,654	-16	4,208	3,991	-5
Alta.	12,339	15,696	27	22,884	30,936	35	35,223	46,632	32
Prairies	15,076	18,747	24	30,490	38,040	25	45,566	56,787	25
B.C.	5,540	4,444	-20	42,354	39,129	-8	47,894	43,573	-9
Canada	42,951	44,383	3	180,562	183,314	2	223,513	227,697	2
Metropolitan Areas
Abbotsford-Mission	232	182	-22	928	1,001	8	1,160	1,183	2
Barrie	763	453	-41	1,545	1,052	-32	2,308	1,505	-35
Belleville - Quinte West	221	229	4	259	158	-39	480	387	-19
Brantford	409	207	-49	456	152	-67	865	359	-58
Calgary	5,875	7,100	21	13,704	17,269	26	19,579	24,369	24
Chilliwack	186	149	-20	430	501	17	616	650	6
Drummondville	164	171	4	481	889	85	645	1,060	64
Edmonton	5,032	6,976	39	8,152	11,408	40	13,184	18,384	39
Fredericton	289	317	10	713	432	-39	1,002	749	-25
Greater Sudbury	80	131	64	188	523	178	268	654	144
Guelph	84	63	-25	1,196	389	-67	1,280	452	-65
Halifax	619	816	32	4,186	4,265	2	4,805	5,081	6
Hamilton	303	416	37	3,398	2,211	-35	3,701	2,627	-29
Kamloops	96	88	-8	426	542	27	522	630	21
Kelowna	453	361	-20	2,517	3,429	36	2,970	3,790	28
Kingston	293	239	-18	1,121	776	-31	1,414	1,015	-28
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo	850	376	-56	3,862	3,035	-21	4,712	3,411	-28
Lethbridge	179	272	52	64	443	##	243	715	194
London	514	564	10	1,674	3,607	115	2,188	4,171	91
Moncton	251	279	11	1,867	2,718	46	2,118	2,997	42
Montréal	1,021	1,107	8	14,214	16,463	16	15,235	17,570	15
Nanaimo	194	169	-13	352	860	144	546	1,029	88
Oshawa	614	425	-31	1,239	1,166	-6	1,853	1,591	-14
Ottawa-Gatineau	1,858	1,916	3	10,135	9,633	-5	11,993	11,549	-4
Gatineau	323	401	24	2,425	3,254	34	2,748	3,655	33
Ottawa	1,535	1,515	-1	7,710	6,379	-17	9,245	7,894	-15
Peterborough	188	134	-29	75	179	139	263	313	19
Québec	542	589	9	4,467	6,316	41	5,009	6,905	38
Red Deer	79	96	22	110	258	135	189	354	87
Regina	214	288	35	963	935	-3	1,177	1,223	4
Saguenay	190	226	19	667	682	2	857	908	6
St. Catharines-Niagara	912	648	-29	1,835	1,095	-40	2,747	1,743	-37
Saint John	229	230	0	313	537	72	542	767	42
St. John's	347	548	58	141	323	129	488	871	78
Saskatoon	786	977	24	1,862	1,679	-10	2,648	2,656	0
Sherbrooke	226	315	39	1,165	1,617	39	1,391	1,932	39
Thunder Bay	95	92	-3	158	208	32	253	300	19
Toronto	4,721	4,723	0	42,707	32,995	-23	47,428	37,718	-20
Trois-Rivières	174	196	13	1,146	1,488	30	1,320	1,684	28
Vancouver	2,832	2,176	-23	30,412	25,936	-15	33,244	28,112	-15
Victoria	385	298	-23	4,607	3,887	-16	4,992	4,185	-16
Windsor	302	486	61	906	1,671	84	1,208	2,157	79
Winnipeg	1,425	1,434	1	4,029	3,717	-8	5,454	5,151	-6
Total	34,227	36,462	7	168,670	166,445	-1	202,897	202,907	0
1Data for 2021 and 2022 based on 2016 Census Definitions and data for 2023 and 2024 based on 2021 Census Definitions.
Source: CMHC Starts and Completion Survey, Market Absorption Survey

Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and Over
	Single-Detached			All Others			Total
	December 2023	December 2024	%	December 2023	December 2024	%	December 2023	December 2024	%
Provinces (10,000+)
N.-L.	48	54	13	22	40	82	70	94	34
P.E.I.	13	26	100	24	82	242	37	108	192
N.S.	148	144	-3	468	315	-33	616	459	-25
N.B.	86	63	-27	281	336	20	367	399	9
Atlantic	295	287	-3	795	773	-3	1,090	1,060	-3
Qc	223	309	39	2,503	2,332	-7	2,726	2,641	-3
Ont.	1,053	942	-11	4,328	4,003	-8	5,381	4,945	-8
Man.	130	123	-5	370	269	-27	500	392	-22
Sask.	84	111	32	367	154	-58	451	265	-41
Alta.	1,189	1,251	5	2,302	2,234	-3	3,491	3,485	0
Prairies	1,403	1,485	6	3,039	2,657	-13	4,442	4,142	-7
B.C.	350	325	-7	4,604	3,418	-26	4,954	3,743	-24
Canada (10,000+)	3,324	3,348	1	15,269	13,183	-14	18,593	16,531	-11
Metropolitan Areas
Abbotsford-Mission	5	13	160	11	117	##	16	130	##
Barrie	84	31	-63	17	548	##	101	579	473
Belleville - Quinte West	18	23	28	4	5	25	22	28	27
Brantford	42	11	-74	54	2	-96	96	13	-86
Calgary	538	514	-4	955	1,203	26	1,493	1,717	15
Chilliwack	10	11	10	70	86	23	80	97	21
Drummondville	20	16	-20	60	52	-13	80	68	-15
Edmonton	513	568	11	1,244	877	-30	1,757	1,445	-18
Fredericton	29	23	-21	2	4	100	31	27	-13
Greater/Grand Sudbury	1	9	##	2	35	##	3	44	##
Guelph	6	6	-	136	11	-92	142	17	-88
Halifax	94	78	-17	385	250	-35	479	328	-32
Hamilton	28	31	11	606	453	-25	634	484	-24
Kamloops	3	3	-	155	2	-99	158	5	-97
Kelowna	52	16	-69	329	3	-99	381	19	-95
Kingston	38	32	-16	8	451	##	46	483	##
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo	47	27	-43	1,460	636	-56	1,507	663	-56
Lethbridge	20	22	10	7	4	-43	27	26	-4
London	32	50	56	40	412	##	72	462	##
Moncton	26	17	-35	216	271	25	242	288	19
Montréal	39	52	33	1,690	988	-42	1,729	1,040	-40
Nanaimo	5	6	20	13	54	315	18	60	233
Oshawa	22	18	-18	19	4	-79	41	22	-46
Ottawa-Gatineau	130	192	48	690	623	-10	820	815	-1
Gatineau	14	36	157	6	182	##	20	218	##
Ottawa	116	156	34	684	441	-36	800	597	-25
Peterborough	29	5	-83	32	0	-100	61	5	-92
Québec	21	12	-43	80	145	81	101	157	55
Red Deer	9	7	-22	0	5	##	9	12	33
Regina	20	18	-10	184	82	-55	204	100	-51
Saguenay	12	45	275	200	102	-49	212	147	-31
St. Catharines-Niagara	39	25	-36	31	24	-23	70	49	-30
Saint John	22	15	-32	44	47	7	66	62	-6
St. John's	39	42	8	20	29	45	59	71	20
Saskatoon	58	90	55	163	72	-56	221	162	-27
Sherbrooke	13	28	115	98	111	13	111	139	25
Thunder Bay	5	11	120	4	0	-100	9	11	22
Toronto	329	328	0	1,107	652	-41	1,436	980	-32
Trois-Rivières	4	7	75	17	128	##	21	135	##
Vancouver	154	156	1	3,208	2,234	-30	3,362	2,390	-29
Victoria	27	36	33	617	481	-22	644	517	-20
Windsor	15	43	187	12	57	375	27	100	270
Winnipeg	104	109	5	305	162	-47	409	271	-34
Total	2,702	2,746	2	14,295	11,422	-20	16,997	14,168	-17
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)
	Single-Detached			All Others			Total
	November 2024	December 2024	%	November 2024	December 2024	%	November 2024	December 2024	%
Provinces (10,000+)
N.L.	997	646	-35	568	556	-2	1,565	1,202	-23
P.E.I.	120	293	144	36	984	##	156	1,277	##
N.S.	1,705	1,687	-1	4,003	3,746	-6	5,708	5,433	-5
N.B.	1,187	806	-32	4,773	4,021	-16	5,960	4,827	-19
Qc	5,596	5,862	5	47,757	34,771	-27	53,353	40,633	-24
Ont.	13,909	12,572	-10	45,602	51,109	12	59,511	63,681	7
Man.	1,549	1,630	5	6,168	3,228	-48	7,717	4,858	-37
Sask.	1,566	1,539	-2	3,228	1,848	-43	4,794	3,387	-29
Alta.	19,061	16,147	-15	40,448	27,154	-33	59,509	43,301	-27
B.C.	4,594	4,303	-6	44,974	41,098	-9	49,568	45,401	-8
Canada (10,000+)	50,284	45,485	-10	197,557	168,515	-15	247,841	214,000	-14
Canada (All Areas)	63,338	57,626	-9	203,802	173,842	-15	267,140	231,468	-13
Metropolitan Areas
Abbotsford-Mission	124	183	48	912	1,404	54	1,036	1,587	53
Barrie	628	507	-19	384	6,576	##	1,012	7,083	##
Belleville - Quinte West	253	285	13	216	60	-72	469	345	-26
Brantford	159	109	-31	696	24	-97	855	133	-84
Calgary	8,134	6,609	-19	21,972	14,436	-34	30,106	21,045	-30
Chilliwack	133	144	8	133	1,032	##	1,729	1,176	-32
Drummondville	146	236	62	1,680	624	-63	1,826	860	-53
Edmonton	8,947	7,754	-13	16,248	10,524	-35	25,195	18,278	-27
Fredericton	388	296	-24	1,296	48	-96	1,684	344	-80
Greater/Grand Sudbury	370	129	-65	5,052	420	-92	5,422	549	-90
Guelph	67	100	49	384	132	-66	451	232	-49
Halifax	928	735	-21	2,712	3,000	11	3,640	3,735	3
Hamilton	677	492	-27	204	5,436	##	881	5,928	##
Kamloops	76	63	-17	3,408	24	-99	3,484	87	-98
Kelowna	382	138	-64	240	36	-85	622	174	-72
Kingston	171	288	68	108	5,412	##	279	5,700	##
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo	359	343	-4	588	7,632	##	947	7,975	##
Lethbridge	418	264	-37	336	48	-86	754	312	-59
London	538	619	15	1,632	4,944	203	2,170	5,563	156
Moncton	516	274	-47	2,640	3,252	23	3,156	3,526	12
Montréal	1,154	1,154	-	30,068	12,220	-59	31,222	13,374	-57
Nanaimo	292	105	-64	1,548	648	-58	1,840	753	-59
Oshawa	385	472	23	240	48	-80	625	520	-17
Ottawa-Gatineau	2,392	2,726	14	10,860	7,476	-31	13,252	10,202	-23
Gatineau	367	546	49	3,816	2,184	-43	4,183	2,730	-35
Ottawa	2,025	2,180	8	7,044	5,292	-25	9,069	7,472	-18
Peterborough	119	50	-58	612	0	-100	731	50	-93
Québec	665	242	-64	12,132	1,740	-86	12,797	1,982	-85
Red Deer	118	73	-38	24	60	150	142	133	-6
Regina	294	253	-14	204	984	382	498	1,237	148
Saguenay	280	553	98	912	1,224	34	1,192	1,777	49
St. Catharines-Niagara	663	385	-42	2,760	288	-90	3,423	673	-80
Saint John	268	182	-32	552	564	2	820	746	-9
St. John's	768	442	-42	516	348	-33	1,284	790	-38
Saskatoon	1,259	1,303	3	3,012	864	-71	4,271	2,167	-49
Sherbrooke	473	461	-3	2,628	1,332	-49	3,101	1,793	-42
Thunder Bay	106	157	48	72	0	-100	178	157	-12
Toronto	4,643	4,144	-11	21,936	7,824	-64	26,579	11,968	-55
Trois-Rivières	170	185	9	816	1,536	88	986	1,721	75
Vancouver	2,318	2,202	-5	29,736	26,808	-10	32,054	29,010	-9
Victoria	201	401	100	3,528	5,772	64	3,729	6,173	66
Windsor	628	661	5	1,512	684	-55	2,140	1,345	-37
Winnipeg	1,372	1,471	7	5,112	1,944	-62	6,484	3,415	-47
Data for 2023 and 2024 based on 2021 Census Definitions.
Source: CMHC
## not calculable / extreme value

SOURCE Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)

Information on this release: To request an interview with a CMHC economist, contact: Media Relations, CMHC, [email protected]