The standalone monthly SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada was at the highest since November 2021 (305,889 units) last month, with 299,589 units, up 11% from August. The SAAR of total urban starts increased 12% to 276,142 units in September. Multi-unit urban starts increased 16% to 216,549 units, while single-detached urban starts were flat at 59,593 units.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 23,447 units.

The trend in housing starts was 276,682 units in September, up 3% from 267,813 units in August, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

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.

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