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June 16, 2025HOUSING STARTS, MAY 2025 Monthly (May 2025 vs April 2025, seasonally adjusted annualized rate)
Nova Scotia’s housing starts (seasonally adjusted annualized rate) totalled 9,022 units in May 2025. This was a 29.6% decrease from the previous month's revised value of 12,816 starts, which had been the 4th highest pace of monthly housing starts in records that date back to 1990.
Housing starts in Halifax decreased to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 6,653 units in May 2025, down 39.6% from 11,018 units in April 2025, which was the second highest pace of housing starts for Halifax in the monthly data that started in 1990.
Outside of Halifax, housing starts increased to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 2,369 units in May 2025, up 31.8% from 1,798 units in April 2025.
Across Canada, housing starts slowed slightly to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 279,510 units in May 2025, down 0.2% from 280,181 units reported in April 2025.
Housing starts were up in five provinces in May 2025, with the fastest percentage gain in New Brunswick. Prince Edward Island reported the sharpest monthly decline in housing starts. (Note: monthly changes in seasonally adjusted annualized housing starts are often volatile).
Year-over-year (May 2025 vs May 2024, seasonally adjusted annualized rate)
Nova Scotia's seasonally adjusted annualized housing starts were up 2.0% compared with the 8,843 unit pace set in May 2024. Halifax housing starts were up 4.6% from their rate in May 2024 (6,359). Housing starts outside the city were down 4.6% year-over-year from their pace in May 2024 (2,484).
Across Canada, housing starts were up 4.3% year-over-year in May 2025 with gains in six provinces. Saskatchewan and Manitoba reported the largest year-over-year gains in housing starts in May. Prince Edward Island reported the steepest decline in housing starts year-over-year.
In unadjusted results for Halifax in May 2025, there were 544 housing starts, up by 18 units (+3.4%) compared with the same month in 2024. There were 594 completions, up significantly from the 75 units completed in May 2024.
The stock of units under construction declined to 11,527 units in Halifax, but was up 6.9% from the number of units under construction in the same month last year (10,778).
Year-to-date (January-May 2024 vs January-May 2025)
Nova Scotia housing starts have increased 0.4% in the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period a year ago. Halifax housing starts have increased 3.4% in January-May 2025 compared to the same period a year ago, while housing starts in the rest of Nova Scotia declined 8.4%.
Nationally, housing starts have fallen 1.1% in the first five months of 2025, despite seven provinces posting an increase in housing starts. Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan posted the largest gains while Ontario posted the largest decline in 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); Table 34-10-0154-01 Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, housing starts, under construction and completions in selected census metropolitan areas, monthly
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