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Housing starts for February 2025 (CNW Group/Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation)
While the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) trend line for housing starts slid slightly forward in February, the total monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of housing starts for all areas in Canada heading the other direction, reported the agency. The monthly SAAR for housing starts decreased by four per cent that month, compared to January, as starts dropped from 239,322 units to 229,030.
The six-month trend in housing starts actually increased 1.1 per cent in February, reaching 239,382 units, according to CMHC tracking. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.
Actual housing starts in centres with a population of 10,000 or greater were down significantly this past February, falling 17 per cent compared to February of 2024. This year saw 14,459 units recorded, well off the 17,454 from a year earlier.
CMHC also noted that the monthly SAAR for Canada’s centres with a population of 10,000 or greater decreased five per cent in February, to come in at 209,784 units.
Among Canada’s big-three cities, Montreal posted a six per cent year-over-year increase in actual housing starts in February, with increases in both multi-unit and single-detached starts; Vancouver recorded a 48 per cent decrease; and starts in Toronto fell 68 per cent from the levels reported in February of 2024. The Vancouver and Toronto results were driven lower by decreases in both multi-unit and single-detached starts.