Housing starts across Canada rose 14% in February from January of this year as builders focus on developing apartments and condominiums.
Data from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) shows that new housing starts nationwide totaled 253,468 in February from the previous month.
On a year-over-year basis, February's housing starts increased 11%, with the gain driven by higher multi-unit starts that increased 16%.
Housing starts for single-detached homes throughout Canada declined by 14% in February from a year earlier.
Across the country, housing starts rose 79% in Vancouver but declined 31% in Montreal in February from January.
While overall housing starts rose across Canada in February, the rate was below the 277,000 starts Canada was seeing on a six-month trend in late 2022 before rising interest rates cooled off the market.
CMHC and it expects the slower pace of housing starts to persist this year as high interest rates and labour shortages continue to impact Canada’s real estate market.
