Canadian housing starts, excluding the province of Quebec, declined 20.4% in May, from 166,477 units to 132,576, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
Including Quebec, housing starts in the country grew 16% in May to 193,453 units. The Canadian housing agency included the survey results without Quebec as April’s report excluded Quebec after the province shut down all residential construction due to the pandemic. Quebec resumed construction activity April 20.
CMHC officials predicted continued housing start declines in the near term due to the impact of COVID-19.
Despite the housing start declines in most provinces, the country is reporting regrowth in its home sales, which rebounded 56.9% in May after a slow April, Reuters reports.
The full May housing start report can be found here.
