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12 MARKET BEATS SEP/OCT 2024 FDM ASIA | www.fdmasia.com

Canadian housing starts stable construction is the downturn in Ontario. In the second quarter
The annual rate of housing starts was slightly down from the of this year, starts in that province dropped to 72,632, which
previous quarter but up from the same period last year, with is 7.0 percent below the first quarter and down 26.0 percent
urban single-detached starts decreasing and other urban starts from the same period a year ago.

slightly increasing, reported by Global Wood Trade Network. In the second quarter of last year, 4.3 out of every 10 homes
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in started in Canada were in the province of Ontario. This year,
Canada was 245,708 in the second quarter, according to the the ratio dropped to 3.2 out of 10. Unaffordable home prices
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. in the Greater Toronto Area are one of the major reasons for
That figure is 1.5 percent below the prior quarter and 0.9 the decline in that province’s residential construction.
percent higher than the same period in 2023. Over the past With its average home price around $1 million, British
five quarters, the rate of starts has been somewhat consistent, Columbia is another province with affordability issues.
ranging from 243,515 to 255,702. Consequently, second-quarter housing starts there dropped
Starts of single-detached dwellings in urban centres totalled 9.4 percent from the first quarter and 11.5 percent from the

a rate of 41,171 in the second quarter, down 3.9 percent from previous year.
the first quarter and 1.6 percent from the same period last year. Meanwhile, where homes are less expensive, starts in the
All other housing starts in urban centres came in at second quarter increased significantly. Compared to last year,
185,521, down 1.3 percent from the previous quarter but Quebec was up 52.6 percent, the Prairies 40.5 percent, and
up 0.7 percent year over year. In areas with a population of the Atlantic provinces 16.5 percent.
10,000 or less, only 19,016 homes were started. However, For June, the rate of Canadian housing starts totalled
that number exceeded both the second quarter of last year 241,672, down 8.8 percent from the prior month. For the

and this year’s first quarter. year through June, starts are on pace to exceed last year’s
One of the more notable changes in Canadian residential total of 240,267.

Ted Eytan