Home building slows in December led, especially, following, building, activity

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Home building slows in December

OTTAWA — Housing construction slowed by a more-than-expected 13.5% in December, led by a decline in multiple-unit activity in Ontario, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts totalled 171,500 units during the month, following a upwardly revised 198,000 units in November, CMHC said Tuesday.



“Housing starts moved lower in December due to the multiple starts segment, especially in Ontario,” said CMHC’s chief economist Bob Dugan. “Single-detached starts were also down, but minimally.”

Economists had expected about 180,000 housing starts in December.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts fell 13.3% to 149,100. Multiple-unit construction was down 20.1% in December to 84,500 units, while single urban starts declined 2.6% to 64,600 units.

In Ontario, urban starts dropped 45.4% in December, while Atlantic Canada saw a 9.8% decline. Meanwhile, British Columbia posted a 46.8% increase, while Quebec rose 13.5% and Prairies gained 0.7%.

The annual rate of rural housing starts totalled 22,400 units, down from 26,200 in November.

“Add to that the fact that building permits (released yesterday) fell 13.3% to 169,600 annualized units in November, while seasonally-adjusted residential permits fell 5.8%, and there is the potential for an even steeper drop in December housing starts,” Robert Kavcic, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, said in a morning note.

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The annual rate of housing starts fell to 171,500 units in December, down from 198,200 units in November.