The number of housing starts in Canada fell slightly during the month of June, and fell by 19% in Quebec, according to the latest data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Across Canada, the monthly seasonally adjusted and annualized number of housing starts fell from 282,188 in May 2022 to 273,841 in June, representing a decline of 3%.

In Quebec, CMHC counted 5,199 housing starts in June. This is a decrease of 19% compared to June 2021.

“Monthly seasonally adjusted annualized (SDA) data declined in June compared to May, but the level of housing starts in Canada has remained historically high and well above 200,000 since 2020,” said Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC.

The latter estimates that the decrease in monthly DDAs on housing starts in Canada's urban centers is attributable to a drop in single-detached housing starts in June.

Overall, the Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal markets saw increases in housing starts, particularly due to the increase in multi-unit housing starts. In Montreal, however, it was the number of single-detached housing starts that increased the most.

Note also that the six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted and annualized monthly housing starts rate was 258,295 in June, compared to 252,444 last May.