There’s some
promising news for those who are looking for signs of renewed life on Canada’s
real estate market.
It turns out
the country is making moves on the supply front.
According to
new figures released today from national housing agency Canada Mortgage and
Housing Corporation (CMHC), the annual pace of housing starts climbed 13% in
February. This is largely attributed to breaking ground on urban multi-unit and
single-family detached homes.
A housing
start is defined as the beginning of construction work on the building where
the dwelling unit will be located, either at the stage when concrete has been
pored for the whole of the footing of the structure or an equivalent or an
equivalent stage where a basement will not be part of the structure.
According to
CMHC, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts for February was
243,959 units, compared to 216,514 in January. Meanwhile, the annual rate of urban
start bumped up 16% to 22,663 units in February.
The annual
rate of multi-unit urban starts increased 18% to 173,745 for the month, while
the pace of starts for single-detached urban home rose 8% to 48,918 units. The
number of rural start was estimated at 21,296 units. This six month moving average
of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) was 255,735 in February,
down 2% form 259,830 units in January.
According to
CMHC, declines in Montreal and Vancouver were offset by Toronto, which recorded
a 55% increase in total SAAR housing starts in February.
The movement
on housing starts comes at a time of continued cries from politicians and
developers alike that the country is in the grips of a supply crisis – something
that will only be compounded by record-breaking immigration targets.
Meanwhile, new
statistics released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association reveal that national
home sales were up 2.3% on a month-over-month basis in February 2023.
Source By: STOREYS