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April 16, 2024HOUSING STARTS, MARCH 2024 Monthly (March 2024 vs February 2024, seasonally adjusted annualized rate)
Nova Scotia’s housing starts (seasonally adjusted annualized rate) totalled 8,557 units in March 2024. This was a 34.5% decline from the previous month. February 2024 housing starts in Nova Scotia were revised up to 13,065 from 12,919 in the first estimate.
Housing starts in Halifax decreased to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 6,387 units in March 2024, down 41.8% from 10,974 units in February 2024.
Outside of Halifax, housing starts grew to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 2,170 units in March 2024, up 3.8% from 2,091 units in February 2024.
Across Canada, housing starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 242,195 units in March 2024, down 6.9% from 260,047 units in February 2024.
Housing starts were down in 6 of 10 provinces last month, with the largest percentage decrease in New Brunswick (-59.8%). The largest percentage growth was in Prince Edward Island (+136.4%).
Year-over-year (March 2024 vs March 2023, seasonally adjusted annualized rate)
Nova Scotia's housing starts were up 104.1% compared with March 2023 - the fastest percentage gain among provinces. Halifax housing starts were 172.3% above their level from March 2023. Housing starts outside the city were up 17.5% year-over-year. Across Canada, housing starts were up 13.5% year-over-year in March with gains in 7 provinces. Nova Scotia reported the largest year-over-year percentage increases in housing starts while New Brunswick and Manitoba reported the steepest drops.
In unadjusted results for Halifax in March 2024, there were 495 housing starts and 227 completions. The stock of units under construction was 9,884 units in Halifax, up 46.8% from the same month last year.
Year-to-date (January-March 2024 vs January-March 2023, seasonally adjusted annualized rate)
Over the first three months of 2024, Nova Scotia's housing starts were up 130.6% compared with the same period in 2023. Halifax starts were up 260.0% while starts outside the city increased by 7.4%. Across Canada, year-to-date housing starts were up 10.4% with gains in 6 provinces. Nova Scotia reported the fastest percentage increase in year-to-date housing starts while Manitoba reported the steepest decline.
Quarterly (Q1 2024, unadjusted)
Nova Scotia's unadjusted housing starts amounted to 2,158 in Q1 2024, up from 827 in Q1 of 2023. This is the largest year-over-year increase in housing starts in the first quarter in the data series back to 1948. The increase from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024 was due to an acceleration in housing starts for multiples.
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 34-10-0158-01 Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, housing starts, all areas, Canada and provinces, seasonally adjusted at annual rates, monthly (x 1,000) ; Table 34-10-0156-01 Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, housing starts in all centres 10,000 and over, Canada, provinces, and census metropolitan areas, seasonally adjusted at annual rates, monthly (x 1,000)
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