OTTAWA, Ontario -- The standalone monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts for all areas in Canada increased 22% in April to 261,559 units compared to 213,780 units in March, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

The CMHC tempered its report of the construction surge by noting challenges still lie ahead for the housing industry overall. The agency noted the trend in housing starts was 240,403 units in April, down 0.2% from 240,876 units in March. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.
 
“While both the SAAR of housing starts and the trend have returned to levels observed before the pandemic, housing starts are expected to drop significantly in 2023, before seeing some recovery in 2024 and 2025, according to our latest forecast,” said Aled ab Iorwerth, CMHC's Deputy Chief Economist. “The expected decline is due to constraints in new construction, including labour shortages, as well as higher construction and borrowing costs for housing developers,” 

The Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal metropolitan areas all recorded an increase in total SAAR housing starts in April, with Vancouver up 36%, Toronto up 54%, and Montreal up 43%. Both Toronto and Montreal recorded declines in single-detached starts that were offset by large increases in multi-unit starts, while Vancouver posted increases in both segments, CMHC said,