Canada’s annual pace of housing starts increased by five per cent in September.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts came in at 223,808 units.
That was compared to 213,012 units in August, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
“Despite the increase in housing starts in September, we remain well below what is required to restore affordability in Canada’s urban centres,” said Kevin Hughes, CMHC’s Deputy Chief Economist.
Figures provided by the corporation show the annual rate of urban starts increased six per cent to 210,002.
Multi-unit urban starts climbed six per cent to 163,400 units while single-detached urban starts were up five per cent to 46,602 units.
The annual rate of rural starts was estimated to be around 13,806 units, according to the corporation.
Meanwhile, the six-month trend in housing starts saw a 1.3 per cent decrease, from 246,972 units in August to 243,759 units in September.
The actual number of housing starts so far this year in urban centres is up two per cent to 168,897.
“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,” said Hughes.
“By contrast, year-to-date starts in Ontario and British Columbia have decreased across all housing types.”
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