Canada's housing starts plummet 10% in January

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Housing starts in Canada plummeted 10% in January and the number of units came in much less than expectations, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) figures released Thursday.

Housing starts stood at 223,589 units in January, significantly down from 248,968 units recorded in December, the CMHC said in a statement.

The market estimate for the figure was to come in at around 236,000.

The North American country saw housing starts also plummet 23% to 202,494 units in May 2023 -- the lowest in more than three years.

"Despite the trend performance, actual starts saw strong year-over-year growth, driven by high multi-unit starts, particularly in Toronto," CMHC's Chief Economist Bob Dugan said in a statement. "In fact, from a historical perspective, we observed the second highest number of housing starts for the month of January going back to 1990."

The number of housing starts across Canada in centers of 10,000 population and over was up 13% to 14,878 units in January, compared to 13,220 units in the same month of last year.