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  • Starts activity remained high in 2022 — December trended lower
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Starts activity remained high in 2022 — December trended lower

Ottawa, January 17, 2023

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.

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).

Media Relations, CMHC
media@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

December Housing Starts in Canada — All areas

Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and Over (Provinces)
 Single-DetachedAll OthersTotal
Dec. 2021Dec. 2022%Dec. 2021Dec. 2022%Dec. 2021Dec, 2022%
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+)4,6123,473-2513,18514,8731317,79718,3463

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 in Centres 10,000 Population and Over (Metropolitan Areas)
 Single-Detached All OthersTotal
Dec. 2021Dec. 2022%Dec. 2021Dec. 2022%Dec. 2021Dec. 2022%
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
Total3,4772,681-2311,64513,5821715,12216,2638

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) (Provinces — 10,000+)
 Single-DetachedAll OthersTotal
Nov. 2022Dec. 2022%Nov. 2022Dec. 2022%Nov. 2022Dec. 2022%
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+)50,36044,858-11190,203182,850-4240,563227,708-5
Canada (All Areas)65,29458,536-10197,727190,089-4263,022248,625-5

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) (Metropolitan Areas)
 Single-DetachedAll OthersTotal
Nov. 2022Dec. 2022%Nov. 2022Dec. 2022%Nov. 2022Dec. 2022%
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

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Date Published: January 17, 2023

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