November Housing Starts Even Less than Forecasts

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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In a set of recently revealed figures, it is calculated that there were 192,235 housing starts in Canada on an annualized basis in November, which is a decline from the prior month and a little less than the economists’ expectations. Last month in October, the number of annualized starts settled at 198,161. The average forecast of all economists anticipated a figure near 195,000 last month.

According to fresh statistics, the rate of starts increased in major urban centres in British Columbia and the Prairies, while it declined in Ontario and Atlantic Canada. Being stable for the first ten months of the year starts averaged at 187,000 per month on an annualized basis, which was a decline from 215,000 in 2012. Economists from Bank of Nova Scotia claim that while starts have softened, they are expected to decrease further. An economist from Bank of Montreal, Benjamin Reitzes, mentioned in a research note issued on Monday that “while housing continues to be a pleasant surprise, the pace of building needs to slow or overbuilding will become a more significant issue.” It was added that “look for starts to ease back towards 180,000, near household formation, through 2014.”

In a separate press release, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. deputy chief economist, Mathieu Laberge, mentioned that “the trend in housing starts has increased slightly since July, before stabilizing in November,” while adding that “overall, housing starts have been following a trend similar to sales on the existing home market. As sales rise relative to listings of existing homes, buyers are increasingly meeting their needs in the new home market.”