The trend in housing starts was 231,491 units in November 2020, up from 222,989 units in October 2020, 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.

“The national trend in housing starts in November increased,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist. “Multi-family SAAR starts partly rebounded in November from two consecutive declines, offsetting a decline in single-detached SAAR starts and driving the overall trend higher. Multi-family starts were particularly strong in Vancouver and Montréal in November.”

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 more complete picture of Canada’s housing market. 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.

The standalone monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas in Canada was 246,033 units in November, an increase of 14.4% from 215,134 units in October. The SAAR of urban starts increased by 15% in November to 233,106 units. Multiple urban starts increased by 22.5% to 177,661 units in November while single-detached urban starts decreased by 3.8% to 55,445 units.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 12,927 units.