Canada Housing Starts Trend Down 1.3%

Canada’s 6-mo housing-starts trend ↓~1% MoM in Mid-Q3 to ~244K annualized units, while the monthly annualized pace stayed essentially flat near 229K.
In larger Canadian centres, actual starts totaled 17.7K in Mid-Q3, ↓~2% yearly, bringing the current year’s first eight months to 149.5K, ↓~4%.
Homes under construction in Canadian centres above 50K population edged ↓<1% MoM to 371.7K units, showing a still-large pipeline despite slight cooling.
Completions softened faster, ↓~11% MoM to 17.6K units, while approved permits not yet started ↑<1% to 142.4K, signaling future projects remained queued.
The national housing outlook said starts were still elevated versus recent years, but the downward trend was expected to continue as construction moderated toward year-end.