CMHC reports annual pace of housing starts slowed in January

Condo towers dot the Toronto skyline on Jan. 28, 2021. (Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in January slowed compared with December.

The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts fell to 230,754 units in January compared with 238,405 in the final month of 2021.

The drop came as the annual pace of urban starts fell five per cent to 204,428 units in January.

The annual rate of urban starts of apartments, condos and other types of multiple-unit housing projects fell nine per cent to 144,332, while single-detached urban starts rose seven per cent to 60,096.

CMHC estimated rural starts at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 26,326 units.

The six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates of housing starts was 254,133 in January, down from 261,352 in December.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2022