The housing starts trendline showed a positive trend for the second consecutive month, driven by robust housing starts in July. The trend stood at 242,525 units, marking a 2.8% increase from June’s 235,819 units, as reported by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This trend measure represents a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts across Canada.

In contrast, the standalone monthly SAAR of total housing starts for all Canadian areas saw a 10% decline in July, with 254,966 units compared to June’s robust 283,498 units, which was the strongest month this year. Despite this monthly dip, the total SAAR housing starts for all Canadian areas remained 7.4% above the five-year average.

Breaking it down further, the monthly SAAR of total urban starts, focusing on areas with populations exceeding 10,000, experienced an 11% decrease, recording 234,857 units in July. Multi-unit urban starts saw a 12% decrease to 193,446 units, while single-detached urban starts decreased by 4% to 41,411 units.

In major Canadian cities, Vancouver and Toronto’s Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) witnessed declines of 23% and 29% in total SAAR housing starts in July, respectively. In contrast, the Montreal, Calgary, and Edmonton CMAs saw notable increases of 12%, 33%, and 67% in total SAAR housing starts.

Additionally, the estimated monthly SAAR for rural housing starts was 20,109 units.

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