Housing starts surge 23.1 per cent in January

THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA -- Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts rose 23.1 per cent in January, as single-family home starts reached their highest level since February 2008 in Montreal.

The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts rose to 282,428 units in January.

Urban starts were up 27.7 per cent to 266,877 units, as starts of multi-unit buildings in cities rose 24.1 per cent to 193,328 units, and starts of single-family homes in cities rose 38.1 per cent to 73,549 units.

CHMC's report says rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 15,551 units.

This month's figure includes housing starts from Kelowna, after the region wasn't surveyed in December due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CHMC says the annual pace of housing starts excluding Kelowna was 281,389 units in January, up 22.7 per cent from 229,350 units in December.

The six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates of housing starts was 244,963 units in January, up from up from 238,747 units in December.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2021.