CMHC reports annual rate of housing starts in June down 6% from May

Carpenters build new homes in Ottawa on Monday, June 1, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in June fell six per cent compared with May.

The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted rate of housing starts came in at 238,971 units in June compared with 253,083 in May.

The six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate was 248,123 units for June, down 2.8 per cent from May.

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The results came as CMHC says the number of units under construction in centres with a population of 50,000 or more totalled 375,469 in June, up 0.2 per cent from May, while completions rose 8.4 per cent to 18,298.

The number of units with approved building permits but not yet started amounted to 137,324 in June, down 1.1 per cent from May.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of rural starts in June was estimated at 11,141 units.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2026.