OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in July fell five per cent compared with June. The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of starts in July was 229,074 units, down from 240,773 in June. The actual monthly housing starts in centres with a population of 10,000 or more in July was 18,834 units, down 19 per cent from 23,155 in July last year. The annual pace of rural starts was estimated at 11,274 units for July. The six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts across Canada was 247,377 units in July, down 0.5 per cent from June. CMHC says construction finished on 19,773 units in July, up 8.1 per cent from June, while the number of units with approved building permits but not yet started increased three per cent month-to-month to 141,480 units in July. --- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2026.
