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December 15, 2023HOUSING STARTS, NOVEMBER 2023 Monthly (November 2023, seasonally adjusted annualized rate)
Nova Scotia’s housing starts (seasonally adjusted annualized rate) totalled 12,992 units in November 2023, the second highest (after 13,844 units in June 2023) monthly housing starts units on record since January 1990. This was up 29.1% from the revised estimate of 10,063 units in October 2023.
Housing starts in Halifax rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 10,265 units in November 2023, up 29.3% from 7,941 units in October 2023.
Outside of Halifax, housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 2,727 units, up 28.5% from 2,122 units in October 2023.
Across Canada, housing starts declined to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 212,624 units in November 2023, down 21.9% from 272,264 units in October 2023.
Housing starts were down in 4 of 10 provinces last month, with the largest percentage decrease in Ontario. The largest percentage increase was in Manitoba.
Year-over-year (November 2023 vs November 2022)
Nova Scotia's housing starts were up 173.6% compared with November 2022 - the largest year-over-year increase among provinces. Halifax housing starts were 351.4% up their level from November 2022. Housing starts outside the city were 10.2% year-over-year. Across Canada, housing starts were down 19.2% year-over-year in November with declines in six provinces. Prince Edward Island reported the largest year-over-year percentage decline in housing starts.
In unadjusted results for Halifax in November 2023, there were 856 housing starts and 243 completions. The stock of units under construction rose to 8,733 units in Halifax.
Year-to-date (January-November 2023 vs January-November 2022)
Monthly and year-over-year changes in housing starts exhibit considerable volatility. Longer year-to-date averages offer a more stable picture of how Nova Scotia's housing market is evolving.
During the first eleven months of 2023, Nova Scotia’s housing starts were up 22.0% compared to the same period in 2022. Halifax housing starts increased 38.0% and starts outside the city were down 2.2%. Across Canada, housing starts were down 8.0% in January-November 2023 with declines in all provinces except Nova Scotia, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan. Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest percentage declines in year-to-date housing starts.
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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