The pace of Canadian housing starts climbed in January from a month earlier on gains in Ontario and Quebec while starts declined in Western Canada, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
January saw a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 213,224 units started, up 8.8% from the 195,892 starts in December. Of those, rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 10,817 units. Gains were concentrated in multifamily buildings such as apartments and condos that saw a 13.2% increase in starts, while single-detached home starts slipped 2.1% to 55,100 units.
Construction activity gains reflected regional economic strengths, but analysts noted that weather, particularly mild winter weather in Quebec, may have played an outsized role at this time of year.
Canada’s residential sector contracted by 6.0% in 2019, with single family starts falling by 14.9% and multi-family starts expanding by 2.4%. There were ground breakings on several sizable multi-family projects in the second half of the year.
High household debt levels and housing prices in key markets held back demand, and the fact that mortgage interest rates have remained high by recent historical standards throughout 2019 has also contributed to housing’s unremarkable performance.
