Canadian housing starts remained flat in the country’s major markets for the first six months of 2023, growing 1% compared with the first half of 2022, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
“Tighter borrowing conditions, elevated construction and labor costs, and high interest rates created challenging conditions for homebuilders across all six major markets,” CMHC stated. “Additionally, construction timelines saw a slight increase from the first half of 2022, up 0.9 months.”
Of the housing starts recorded across the six markets, Toronto and Vancouver accounted for nearly two thirds, but the growth recorded in Toronto and Vancouver was offset by declines in the country’s other large markets. Apartment starts made up nearly three quarters of all housing construction during the time period.
The full CMHC report can be found here.
