Canadian Housing Starts Decline in December

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canadian housing starts fell 13% in December compared to the previous month, with a decrease in groundbreaking for both multiple unit and single-family detached urban homes, as reported by the national housing agency on Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts dropped to 231,468 units from a revised 267,140 units in November, as noted by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Economists had projected a decline to 245,000 starts.

Looking ahead to 2024, starts are up 2% compared to 2023, supported by historically high levels of rental construction.