CMHC reports annual pace of housing starts in August down 16 per cent from July

New homes are constructed in Ottawa on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in August fell 16 per cent compared with July.

The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts came in at 245,791 units in August, down from 293,537 in July.

The drop came as the seasonally adjusted annual pace of housing starts for Canadian centres with a population of 10,000 or greater fell to 223,728 in August compared with 272,330 a month earlier.

The annual rate of rural starts was estimated at 22,063 in August.

The six-month moving average of the overall seasonally adjusted annual rate was up 1.6 per cent in August at 267,259 units.

CMHC says actual housing starts in August for centres with a population of 10,000 or greater totalled 18,408, compared with 16,775 in August 2024.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2025.

The Canadian Press