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September 17, 2026HOUSING STARTS, AUGUST 2026 Monthly (August 2026 vs July 2026, seasonally adjusted annualized rate)
Nova Scotia’s housing starts (seasonally adjusted annualized rate) totalled 7,055 units in August 2026. This was a 13.6% decline from the previous month's revised value of 8,163 starts.
Housing starts in Halifax decreased to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4,983 units in August 2026. This was a 7.1% decline from 5,361 units in July 2026.
Outside of Halifax, housing starts decreased to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 2,072 units in August 2026, down 26.1% from 2,802 units in July 2026.
Across Canada, housing starts edged down to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 229,046 units in August 2026, down 0.1% from 229,360 units reported in July 2026.
Housing starts were down in six provinces in August 2026, with the fastest percentage decline in Prince Edward Island. The fastest gain was reported in British Columbia. Note: monthly changes in seasonally adjusted annualized housing starts are often volatile.
Year-over-year (August 2026 vs August 2025, seasonally adjusted annualized rate)
Nova Scotia's housing starts were down 8.0% compared with the 7,667 unit pace set in August 2025. Halifax housing starts were down 7.9% from their pace in August 2025 (5,412). Housing starts outside the city were down 8.1% year-over-year from their pace in August 2025 (2,255). Across Canada, housing starts were down 6.2% year-over-year in August 2026 with declines in six provinces. The fastest decline was reported in Prince Edward Island. The fastest gain was reported in Saskatchewan.
In unadjusted results for Halifax in August 2026, there were 416 housing starts and 776 completions. From July to August, the stock of units under construction in Halifax slowed to 14,400 units, this was up 12.2% from units under construction in the same month last year (12,832).
Year-to-date (January-August 2025 vs January-August 2026)
Nova Scotia housing starts fell by 29.2% in the first eight months of 2026 compared to the same period a year ago, the fastest decline among provinces. Halifax housing starts decreased 38.3% in January-August 2026 compared to the same period a year ago, while housing starts in the rest of Nova Scotia were down 4.0%. Nationally, housing starts dropped 5.0% in the first eight months of 2026, despite gains in five provinces, led by Manitoba.
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 34-10-0135-01 Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, housing starts, under construction and completions, all areas, quarterly
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