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Housing starts for May 2024

Ottawa, June 17, 2024

The total monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of housing starts for all areas in Canada increased 10% in May (264,506 units) compared to April (241,111), according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

The six-month trend in housing starts increased 3.8% from 238,859 units in April to 247,830 units in May. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.

The actual number of housing starts across Canada in urban centres of 10,000 population and over was up 39% to 21,652 units in May compared to 15,606 units in May 2023. The year-over-year increase was driven by higher multi-unit starts, up 49% and higher single-detached starts, up 6%.

May’s total actual housing starts were higher in two of Canada’s three major cities, with Toronto up 26% and Montréal up 200% compared to May a year ago. Vancouver declined 13%. Montreal’s total starts result was driven by a 59% increase in single-detached starts and a 218% increase in multi-unit starts versus May 2023.

Quote:

“The focus for homebuilders remains on multi-unit construction in Canada’s major centres as both the SAAR and Trend of housing starts increased in May, following two consecutive months of decline. This was due to growth in actual year-over-year starts, driven by significantly higher multi-unit starts, particularly in Montréal and Québec. While this is good news for housing supply, we do expect downward pressure on starts through the rest of 2024,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s Chief Economist.

Key facts:

  • The monthly SAAR of total urban housing starts (centres with population above 10,000) was 11% higher at 246,111 units recorded. Multi-unit urban starts increased 13% to 203,141 units, while single-detached urban starts increased 2% to 42,970 units.
  • The rural starts monthly SAAR estimate was 18,395 units.
  • Total SAAR housing starts were up 104% in Montréal, driven by a 106% increase in multi-unit starts. Vancouver declined 32%, due to decreases in multi-unit starts. Toronto increased 47% with multi-unit starts higher.
  • 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 June housing starts data on July 16 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.

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.

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Related links:

  • 2024 Rental Market Report
  • 2024 Housing Market Outlook
  • Spring 2024 Housing Supply Report
  • Housing starts for April 2024
  • Canada’s potential capacity for housing construction

Information on this release:

To request an interview with a CMHC economist, contact:
Media Relations, CMHC
media@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

May housing starts in Canada — all areas

Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and Over (Provinces)
  Single-Detached All Others Total
May 2023 May 2024 % May 2023 May 2024 % May 2023 May 2024 %
N.-L. 29 50 72 6 11 83 35 61 74
P.E.I. 5 34 ## 9 100 ## 14 134 ##
N.S. 110 117 6 259 535 107 369 652 77
N.B. 77 94 22 267 474 78 344 568 65
Atlantic 221 295 33 541 1,120 107 762 1,415 86
Qc 388 561 45 1,587 4,379 176 1,975 4,940 150
Ont. 1,348 1,156 -14 4,374 5,906 35 5,722 7,062 23
Man. 148 124 -16 428 95 -78 576 219 -62
Sask. 84 115 37 109 40 -63 193 155 -20
Alta. 1,026 1,359 32 2,064 2,754 33 3,090 4,113 33
Prairies 1,258 1,598 27 2,601 2,889 11 3,859 4,487 16
B.C. 558 401 -28 2,730 3,347 23 3,288 3,748 14
Canada (10,000+) 3,773 4,011 6 11,833 17,641 49 15,606 21,652 39

Data for 2023 and 2024 based on 2021 Census Definitions.

Source: CMHC

## not calculable / extreme value

Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and Over (Metropolitan Areas)
  Single-Detached All Others Total
May 2023 May 2024 % May 2023 May 2024 % May 2023 May 2024 %
Abbotsford – Mission 28 16 -43 157 125 -20 185 141 -24
Barrie 89 27 -70 36 60 67 125 87 -30
Belleville – Quinte West 24 18 -25 4 4 - 28 22 -21
Brantford 68 26 -62 63 0 -100 131 26 -80
Calgary 512 617 21 1,564 1,379 -12 2,076 1,996 -4
Chilliwack 18 13 -28 59 13 -78 77 26 -66
Drummondville 15 13 -13 45 61 36 60 74 23
Edmonton 423 577 36 435 1,253 188 858 1,830 113
Fredericton 11 32 191 22 64 191 33 96 191
Greater / Grand Sudbury 8 6 -25 10 22 120 18 28 56
Guelph 6 8 33 5 0 -100 11 8 -27
Halifax 29 60 107 144 466 224 173 526 204
Hamilton 29 21 -28 63 429 ## 92 450 389
Kamloops 6 21 250 3 87 ## 9 108 ##
Kelowna 32 32 - 120 1,020 ## 152 1,052 ##
Kingston 22 10 -55 9 20 122 31 30 -3
Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo 76 37 -51 142 30 -79 218 67 -69
Lethbridge 1 39 ## 0 19 ## 1 58 ##
London 44 58 32 199 99 -50 243 157 -35
Moncton 29 28 -3 152 367 141 181 395 118
Montréal 90 143 59 710 2,259 218 800 2,402 200
Nanaimo 19 15 -21 46 12 -74 65 27 -58
Oshawa 40 87 118 126 82 -35 166 169 2
Ottawa – Gatineau 161 194 20 268 1,344 401 429 1,538 259
Gatineau 22 44 100 75 776 ## 97 820 ##
Ottawa 139 150 8 193 568 194 332 718 116
Peterborough 6 7 17 10 2 -80 16 9 -44
Québec 51 54 6 243 587 142 294 641 118
Red Deer 9 7 -22 18 5 -72 27 12 -56
Regina 17 21 24 24 17 -29 41 38 -7
Saguenay 13 25 92 24 11 -54 37 36 -3
St. Catharines – Niagara 140 117 -16 82 186 127 222 303 36
Saint John 23 23 - 80 26 -68 103 49 -52
St. John's 25 43 72 6 11 83 31 54 74
Saskatoon 62 86 39 84 22 -74 146 108 -26
Sherbrooke 18 32 78 72 90 25 90 122 36
Thunder Bay 5 11 120 0 2 ## 5 13 160
Toronto 325 290 -11 3,227 4,190 30 3,552 4,480 26
Trois-Rivières 21 29 38 51 129 153 72 158 119
Vancouver 291 182 -37 1,977 1,789 -10 2,268 1,971 -13
Victoria 50 28 -44 83 122 47 133 150 13
Windsor 25 31 24 44 86 95 69 117 70
Winnipeg 138 106 -23 423 81 -81 561 187 -67
Total 2,999 3,190 6 10,830 16,571 53 13,829 19,761 43

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) (Provinces — 10,000+)
  Single-Detached  All Others Total
Apr. 2024 May 2024 % Apr. 2024 May 2024 % Apr. 2024 May 2024 %
N.L. 623 544 -13 293 114 -61 916 658 -28
P.E.I. 111 224 102 96 1,200 ## 207 1,424 ##
N.S. 1,918 1,625 -15 5,428 6,399 18 7,346 8,024 9
N.B. 939 950 1 2,046 5,453 167 2,985 6,403 115
Qc 4,524 5,173 14 26,360 46,518 76 30,884 51,691 67
Ont. 13,249 12,909 -3 56,673 69,409 22 69,922 82,318 18
Man. 1,498 1,433 -4 6,036 1,140 -81 7,534 2,573 -66
Sask. 774 1,095 41 3,180 480 -85 3,954 1,575 -60
Alta. 14,522 14,657 1 30,427 32,469 7 44,949 47,126 5
B.C. 4,059 4,360 7 48,620 39,959 -18 52,679 44,319 -16
Canada (10,000+) 42,217 42,970 2 179,159 203,141 13 221,376 246,111 11
Canada (All Areas) 54,390 54,410 0 186,721 210,093 13 241,111 264,506 10

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) (Metropolitan Areas)
  Single-Detached All Others Total
Apr. 2024 May 2024 % Apr. 2024 May 2024 % Apr. 2024 May 2024 %
Abbotsford – Mission 237 154 -35 468 1,500 221 705 1,654 135
Barrie 691 289 -58 108 720 ## 799 1,009 26
Belleville – Quinte West 205 132 -36 96 48 -50 301 180 -40
Brantford 341 258 -24 60 0 -100 401 258 -36
Calgary 6,357 6,874 8 15,636 16,548 6 21,993 23,422 6
Chilliwack 118 145 23 118 156 32 226 301 33
Drummondville 114 133 17 540 732 36 654 865 32
Edmonton 6,403 5,978 -7 12,696 15,036 18 19,099 21,014 10
Fredericton 384 294 -23 0 768 ## 384 1,062 177
Greater / Grand Sudbury 11 31 182 0 264 ## 11 295 ##
Guelph 30 91 203 384 0 -100 414 91 -78
Halifax 903 783 -13 5,016 5,592 11 5,919 6,375 8
Hamilton 225 223 -1 492 5,148 ## 717 5,371 ##
Kamloops 97 196 102 60 1,044 ## 157 1,240 ##
Kelowna 299 377 26 2,040 12,240 ## 2,339 12,617 439
Kingston 251 142 -43 144 240 67 395 382 -3
Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo 558 410 -27 5,628 360 -94 6,186 770 -88
Lethbridge 129 404 213 612 228 -63 741 632 -15
London 618 583 -6 4,500 1,188 -74 5,118 1,771 -65
Moncton 273 214 -22 1,836 4,404 140 2,109 4,618 119
Montréal 769 1,277 66 13,141 27,033 106 13,910 28,310 104
Nanaimo 130 142 9 4,464 144 -97 4,594 286 -94
Oshawa 439 806 84 1,080 984 -9 1,519 1,790 18
Ottawa – Gatineau 1,841 1,929 5 3,708 16,128 335 5,549 18,057 225
Gatineau 309 542 75 384 9,312 ## 693 9,854 ##
Ottawa 1,532 1,387 -9 3,324 6,816 105 4,856 8,203 69
Peterborough 124 87 -30 168 24 -86 292 111 -62
Québec 582 559 -4 7,572 7,044 -7 8,154 7,603 -7
Red Deer 86 112 30 756 60 -92 842 172 -80
Regina 228 229 0 2,448 204 -92 2,676 433 -84
Saguenay 71 237 234 96 132 38 167 369 121
St. Catharines – Niagara 627 1,109 77 1,116 2,232 100 1,743 3,341 92
Saint John 18 194 ## 120 312 160 138 506 267
St. John's 645 507 -21 132 132 - 777 639 -18
Saskatoon 436 791 81 720 264 -63 1,156 1,055 -9
Sherbrooke 230 346 50 768 1,080 41 998 1,426 43
Thunder Bay 96 169 76 0 24 ## 96 193 101
Toronto 4,001 3,999 0 32,988 50,280 52 36,989 54,279 47
Trois-Rivières 79 215 172 336 1,548 361 415 1,763 325
Vancouver 2,008 2,056 2 32,616 21,468 -34 34,624 23,524 -32
Victoria 241 341 41 5,820 1,464 -75 6,061 1,805 -70
Windsor 376 357 -5 3,468 1,032 -70 3,844 1,389 -64
Winnipeg 1,207 1,200 -1 5,880 972 -83 7,087 2,172 -69

Data for 2023 and 2024 based on 2021 Census Definitions.

Source: CMHC

## not calculable / extreme value

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Date Published: June 17, 2024

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