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March 18, 2024HOUSING STARTS, FEBRUARY 2024 Monthly (February 2024 vs January 2024, seasonally adjusted annualized rate)
Nova Scotia’s housing starts (seasonally adjusted annualized rate) totalled 12,919 units in February 2024. This was the second largest number of monthly housing starts in records dating back to 1990. June 2023 was the highest value (14,295) for seasonally adjusted annualized starts in Nova Scotia. February 2024 housing starts in Nova Scotia were up 85.4% from the revised estimate of 6,968 units in January 2024.
Housing starts in Halifax increased to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 10,967 units in February 2024, up 155.1% from 4,299 units in January 2024.
Outside of Halifax, housing starts contracted to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1,952 units in February 2024, down 26.9% from 2,669 units in January 2024.
Across Canada, housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 253,468 units in February 2024, up 13.6% from 223,176 units in January 2024.
Housing starts were up in 6 of 10 provinces last month, with the largest percentage decrease in Nova Scotia. The largest percentage decline was in Prince Edward Island.
Year-over-year (February 2024 vs February 2023, seasonally adjusted annualized rate)
Nova Scotia's housing starts were up 184.3% compared with February 2023 - the fastest percentage gain among provinces. Halifax housing starts were 361.8% above their level from February 2023. Housing starts outside the city were down 10.0% year-over-year. Across Canada, housing starts were up 5.3% year-over-year in February with gains in 5 provinces. Nova Scotia reported the largest year-over-year percentage increases in housing starts while Prince Edward Island reported the steepest drop.
In unadjusted results for Halifax in February 2024, there were 877 housing starts and 192 completions. The stock of units under construction was 9,617 units in Halifax, up 44.6% from the same month last year.
Year-to-date (January-February 2024 vs January-February 2023, seasonally adjusted annualized rate)
Over the first two months of 2024, Nova Scotia's housing starts were up 144.1% compared with the same period in 2023. Halifax starts were up 315.6% while starts outside the city increased by 3.3%. Across Canada, year-to-date housing starts were up 5.9% with gains in 6 provinces. Nova Scotia reported the fastest percentage increase in year-to-date housing starts while Manitoba reported the steepest decline.
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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