Housing starts for January 2025

Ottawa, February 17, 2025

The six-month trend in housing starts declined 2.5% in January to 236,892 units, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). 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 increased 3% in January (239,739 units) compared to December (232,492 units).

Actual housing starts were up 7% year-over-year in centres with a population of 10,000 or greater, with 15,930 units recorded in January 2025, compared to 14,883 in January 2024.

Quote:

“Both the monthly SAAR and actual housing starts increased in Canada’s urban centres in January. This was primarily driven by an 8% increase in multi-unit starts, particularly purpose-built rentals concentrated in Quebec and British Columbia. While these increases show early signs of progress to begin the year, foreign trade risks add significant uncertainty for housing construction going forward,” said Tania Bourassa-Ochoa, CMHC’s Deputy Chief Economist. “In our recently released Housing Market Outlook, CMHC projected housing starts to slow down from 2025 to 2027, mainly due to decreases in condominium apartment starts.”

Key facts:

The monthly SAAR for Canada’s centres with a population of 10,000 or greater also increased 3% in January (220,643 units) compared to December (215,052 units).
The rural starts monthly SAAR estimate was 19,096 units.
Among Canada’s three largest cities, Montreal posted a 112% year-over-year increase in actual housing starts in January while Vancouver recorded a 37% increase, both driven by higher multi-unit starts. Starts in Toronto fell 41% from January 2024, driven by decreases in multi-unit starts.
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 11th business day each month. February housing starts data will be released on March 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.

Information on this release:

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

Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and Over (Provinces)
	Jan. 2024	Jan. 2025	%	Jan. 2024	Jan. 2025	%	Jan. 2024	Jan. 2025	%
	Single-Detached			All Others			Total
N.-L.	38	33	-13	36	23	-36	74	56	-24
P.E.I.	17	11	-35	67	188	181	84	199	137
N.S.	104	114	10	351	516	47	455	630	38
N.B.	28	30	7	215	48	-78	243	78	-68
Atlantic	187	188	1	669	775	16	856	963	13
Qc	237	256	8	2,347	3,749	60	2,584	4,005	55
Ont.	661	495	-25	5,073	3,575	-30	5,734	4,070	-29
Man.	110	145	32	191	251	31	301	396	32
Sask.	60	59	-2	157	139	-11	217	198	-9
Alta.	815	979	20	2,114	2,220	5	2,929	3,199	9
Prairies	985	1,183	20	2,462	2,610	6	3,447	3,793	10
B.C.	260	264	2	2,002	2,835	42	2,262	3,099	37
Canada (10,000+)	2,330	2,386	2	12,553	13,544	8	14,883	15,930	7

Data for 2022 based on 2016 Census Definitions and data for 2023, 2024 and 2025 based on 2021 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)
	Jan. 2024	Jan. 2025	%	Jan. 2024	Jan. 2025	%	Jan. 2024	Jan. 2025	%
	Single-Detached			All Others			Total
Abbotsford-Mission	16	10	-38	78	280	259	94	290	209
Barrie	20	3	-85	8	18	125	28	21	-25
Belleville - Quinte West	7	6	-14	0	0	-	7	6	-14
Brantford	13	11	-15	0	242	##	13	253	##
Calgary	487	552	13	1,464	1,077	-26	1,951	1,629	-17
Chilliwack	8	10	25	1	4	300	9	14	56
Drummondville	4	10	150	1	18	##	5	28	460
Edmonton	242	332	37	441	879	99	683	1,211	77
Fredericton	8	10	25	7	2	-71	15	12	-20
Greater/Grand Sudbury	0	2	##	2	0	-100	2	2	-
Guelph	2	1	-50	0	1	##	2	2	-
Halifax	51	60	18	289	451	56	340	511	50
Hamilton	47	13	-72	204	17	-92	251	30	-88
Kamloops	1	11	##	1	8	##	2	19	##
Kelowna	11	17	55	107	343	221	118	360	205
Kingston	9	4	-56	2	166	##	11	170	##
Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo	14	17	21	167	179	7	181	196	8
Lethbridge	15	22	47	88	103	17	103	125	21
London	27	32	19	155	22	-86	182	54	-70
Moncton	5	8	60	95	8	-92	100	16	-84
Montréal	63	101	60	1,134	2,439	115	1,197	2,540	112
Nanaimo	27	4	-85	177	0	-100	204	4	-98
Oshawa	17	6	-65	312	0	-100	329	6	-98
Ottawa – Gatineau	93	103	11	308	685	122	401	788	97
Gatineau	11	12	9	181	310	71	192	322	68
Ottawa	82	91	11	127	375	195	209	466	123
Peterborough	5	6	20	0	0	-	5	6	20
Québec	25	38	52	538	488	-9	563	526	-7
Red Deer	5	16	220	6	12	100	11	28	155
Regina	5	7	40	110	96	-13	115	103	-10
Saguenay	24	9	-63	18	48	167	42	57	36
St. Catharines – Niagara	57	28	-51	38	83	118	95	111	17
Saint John	9	7	-22	90	26	-71	99	33	-67
St. John's	34	30	-12	36	22	-39	70	52	-26
Saskatoon	51	49	-4	46	41	-11	97	90	-7
Sherbrooke	17	8	-53	67	53	-21	84	61	-27
Thunder Bay	0	3	##	6	14	133	6	17	183
Toronto	281	219	-22	3,724	2,149	-42	4,005	2,368	-41
Trois-Rivières	9	11	22	88	40	-55	97	51	-47
Vancouver	121	141	17	1,342	1,866	39	1,463	2,007	37
Victoria	11	15	36	171	90	-47	182	105	-42
Windsor	11	13	18	196	31	-84	207	44	-79
Winnipeg	99	133	34	171	236	38	270	369	37
Total	1,951	2,078	7	11,688	12,237	5	13,639	14,315	5

Housing Start Data — Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates (SAAR) (Provinces — 10,000+)
	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025	%	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025	%	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025	%
	Single-Detached			All Others			Total
N.L.	633	707	12	566	274	-52	1,199	981	-18
P.E.I.	294	267	-9	984	2,256	129	1,278	2,523	97
N.S.	1,700	1,872	10	3,743	6,316	69	5,443	8,188	50
N.B.	806	964	20	4,022	785	-80	4,828	1,749	-64
Qc	5,854	5,961	2	35,910	52,399	46	41,764	58,360	40
Ont.	12,448	9,426	-24	50,988	47,571	-7	63,436	56,997	-10
Man.	1,656	2,081	26	3,228	3,012	-7	4,884	5,093	4
Sask.	1,508	1,289	-15	1,848	1,668	-10	3,356	2,957	-12
Alta.	16,208	16,918	4	27,197	27,901	3	43,405	44,819	3
B.C.	4,354	4,898	12	41,105	34,078	-17	45,459	38,976	-14
Canada (10,000+)	45,461	44,383	-2	169,591	176,260	4	215,052	220,643	3
Canada (All Areas)	57,284	57,299	0	175,207	182,443	4	232,492	239,739	3

Housing Start Data — Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates (SAAR) (Metropolitan Areas)
	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025	%	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025	%	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025	%
	Single-Detached			All Others			Total
Abbotsford-Mission	187	193	3	1,404	3,360	139	1,591	3,553	123
Barrie	521	73	-86	6,576	216	-97	7,097	289	-96
Belleville - Quinte West	280	186	-34	60	0	-100	340	186	-45
Brantford	117	198	69	24	2,904	##	141	3,102	##
Calgary	6,486	8,444	30	14,436	12,924	-10	20,922	21,368	2
Chilliwack	146	152	4	146	48	-67	1,178	200	-83
Drummondville	244	262	7	624	216	-65	868	478	-45
Edmonton	7,656	7,781	2	10,524	10,548	0	18,180	18,329	1
Fredericton	294	305	4	48	24	-50	342	329	-4
Greater/Grand Sudbury	127	104	-18	420	0	-100	547	104	-81
Guelph	96	21	-78	132	12	-91	228	33	-86
Halifax	749	1,030	38	3,000	5,412	80	3,749	6,442	72
Hamilton	423	220	-48	5,436	204	-96	5,859	424	-93
Kamloops	59	153	159	24	96	300	83	249	200
Kelowna	135	396	193	36	4,116	##	171	4,512	##
Kingston	278	166	-40	5,412	1,992	-63	5,690	2,158	-62
Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo	349	428	23	7,632	2,148	-72	7,981	2,576	-68
Lethbridge	269	375	39	48	1,236	##	317	1,611	408
London	630	624	-1	4,944	264	-95	5,574	888	-84
Moncton	283	412	46	3,252	96	-97	3,535	508	-86
Montréal	1,297	1,478	14	12,311	29,880	143	13,608	31,358	130
Nanaimo	111	66	-41	648	0	-100	759	66	-91
Oshawa	458	193	-58	48	0	-100	506	193	-62
Ottawa – Gatineau	2,691	2,358	-12	7,476	8,220	10	10,167	10,578	4
Gatineau	512	265	-48	2,184	3,720	70	2,696	3,985	48
Ottawa	2,179	2,093	-4	5,292	4,500	-15	7,471	6,593	-12
Peterborough	59	164	178	0	0	-	59	164	178
Québec	230	781	240	1,740	5,856	237	1,970	6,637	237
Red Deer	76	208	174	60	144	140	136	352	159
Regina	243	208	-14	984	1,152	17	1,227	1,360	11
Saguenay	561	425	-24	1,224	576	-53	1,785	1,001	-44
St. Catharines – Niagara	384	475	24	288	996	246	672	1,471	119
Saint John	181	217	20	564	312	-45	745	529	-29
St. John's	436	478	10	348	264	-24	784	742	-5
Saskatoon	1,275	1,013	-21	864	492	-43	2,139	1,505	-30
Sherbrooke	450	129	-71	1,332	636	-52	1,782	765	-57
Thunder Bay	157	105	-33	0	168	##	157	273	74
Toronto	4,066	3,341	-18	7,824	25,788	230	11,890	29,129	145
Trois-Rivières	181	154	-15	1,536	480	-69	1,717	634	-63
Vancouver	2,239	2,596	16	26,808	22,392	-16	29,047	24,988	-14
Victoria	393	299	-24	5,772	1,080	-81	6,165	1,379	-78
Windsor	649	286	-56	684	372	-46	1,333	658	-51
Winnipeg	1,494	1,792	20	1,944	2,832	46	3,438	4,624	34