There was an increase of 8 percent in the number of homes that began being constructed in Canada last month, which is an indication that the housing sector in the country is heading in the right direction. According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the trend in housing started to increase to 257,846 units in April from 253,226 units in March, when they had decreased marginally from the previous month. When calculating the trend, a moving average of the monthly Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rates (SAAR) of housing starts is utilized as the key metric. This parameter is measured over a span of one year and one month.
According to Bob Dugan, the Chief Economist of CMHC, "On a trend and monthly SAAR basis, the level of housing starts activity in Canada remains historically high, hovering well above 200,000 units since June 2020 and increased from March to April,”
The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) utilizes the trend measure as a supplement to the monthly SAAR of housing starts in order to account for noteworthy changes in monthly estimates and to provide a clearer picture of the anticipated new housing supply. However, extreme caution is required when carrying out the measure in question. The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) issues a warning “In some situations, analyzing only SAAR data can be misleading, as the multi-unit segment largely drives the market and can vary significantly from one month to the next,” Among Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, Toronto was the only market to post a decrease in total SAAR starts, which was driven by lower multi-unit and single-detached starts." This statement was made in reference to the fact that the level of housing starts activity in Canada has remained historically high. The level of housing starts activity in Canada remains at a historically high level, holding far above 200,000 units, according to both the trend and the monthly SAAR basis.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of the total house starts across all Canadian regions in April was 267,330 units, which reflects an increase of 8 percent in comparison to the totals seen in March. In April, the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total urban starts increased to 245,324 units, which was a ten percent increase from the previous month. While there was only a one percent increase in the number of urban starts for single-family detached homes, there was a 14 percent increase in the number of urban starts for multi-unit structures, which brought the total to 178,092 units. After taking into account the effects that seasonality has, it was estimated that rural beginnings will occur at an annual rate of 22,006 units. At a time when many people blame a lack of supply as the primary perpetrator behind the housing problem in Canada, this is some positive news for the market in Canada.
