Building permit to start duration

Excel - Publication

Data in this table shows the duration of time, in months, between the building permit being issued by a municipality and CMHC recording the housing start in its Starts and and Completions Survey (SCS). Data in this series is published quarterly for Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) only.

As a supplement to starts and completions data, this data series helps monitor the pace of new housing construction and supports planning, forecasting and policy decisions.

Note: CMHC enumerators utilize building permits issued by municipalities to visit specific locations to confirm the start of residential construction. Most of the permits used to track construction activity are those issued to allow the pouring of the foundation. However, some municipalities provide earlier-stage building permits, which can result in longer duration estimates. Examples of earlier-stage building permits include:

permits provided to CMHC at the application rather than approval stage
site or lot excavation permits
shoring permits

Because the type of building permit received differs amongst municipalities, any comparisons or comparative analysis between municipalities is not recommended.

Data in this series is weighted by the number of units observed at start, which better reflects the variation in permit-to-start duration for larger builds, particularly multi-family apartments. Accessory units are excluded from this weighting.