OTTAWA, Ontario – Housing starts in Canada inched up 1 percent to 267,365 units in November compared to 264,583 in October, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

These housing start numbers are based on a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

 “The six-month trend in housing starts was higher from October to November, with total starts rebounding from their declines in prior months,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC's chief economist. “For SAAR housing starts in Canada’s urban areas, there was a slight decrease in single-detached starts, while multi-family starts experienced a large increase in November, resulting in higher overall starts for the month. 

“On a trend and monthly SAAR basis, the level of housing starts activity in Canada remains high in historical terms,” Dugan added. “Among Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal, Vancouver was the only negative market, while Toronto had a significant gain in total SAAR starts in November, due to the multi-family segment more than doubling from the prior month.”