Housing Starts Still 'Well Below Required Amount' Despite 5% Increase In September

There are a few different lenses through which to view our current standing.

On a seasonally-adjusted basis, national housing starts increased by 5% in September, but this was after a 22% drop in August. According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), we're still "well below" the amount of starts necessary to reach our housing goals..

There are a few different lenses through which to view our current standing. On a seasonally adjusted basis, there were 223,808 unit starts in September, up from 213,012 units in August, but the six-month trend saw a decrease of 1.9%. Now, year-to-date (January to September), there was a 2% year-over-year increase in actual, not seasonally adjusted, urban housing starts as numbers ticked up from 165,559 in 2023 to 168,897 this year.

But bottom line: we are not producing enough housing, especially in Ontario and BC where housing affordability is at its lowest.

“Growth in actual year-to-date housing starts has been driven by both higher multi-unit and single-detached units in Alberta, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. By contrast, year-to-date starts in Ontario and British Columbia have decreased across all housing types," says CMHC’s Deputy Chief Economist Kevin Hughes. "Despite the increase in housing starts in September, we remain well below what is required to restore affordability in Canada’s urban centres.”