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January 19, 2021HOUSING STARTS, DECEMBER AND ANNUAL 2020 
Nova Scotia’s housing starts (seasonally adjusted annualized rate) totalled 6,372 units in December 2020, down 19.0% from 7,871 in November 2020.
The monthly decrease in December reflects lower starts in Halifax and higher starts in Nova Scotia outside of Halifax. Housing starts decreased 35.7% in Halifax, from 6,123 in November to 3,937 in December 2020. Outside Halifax, housing starts were up 39.3%, from 1,748 in November to 2,435 in December 2020.
Compared to December 2019, housing starts in Nova Scotia decreased 6.3%. Housing starts in Halifax were lower by 10.7% while outside of Halifax housing starts increased 1.6% compared to last year.
The six-month moving average of housing starts in Nova Scotia and Halifax was relatively flat through 2017. During 2018, the six-month moving average increased due to higher starts for multiples and declined after reaching a peak in September. The six-month moving average rose in the summer of 2019 due to trends in the Halifax market. For Nova Scotia, the trend has been negative in first half of 2020 and rose in the second half of 2020 due to declines in Halifax as well as outside of Halifax in first half, while within Halifax there has been an upward trend in second half of 2020 and within outside of Halifax there has been an upward trend since September 2020. Outside of Halifax, the six-month moving average was elevated through 2018 but has since returned to levels similar to those seen in 2017. Since the spring of 2019, the six-month moving average has been trending downward outside of Halifax with some increase in recent months.
In urban areas, housing starts for multiples are generally higher than for singles with greater variability month-to-month. The six-month moving average for singles was relatively flat through most of 2019 and has been trending downward since May 2020 with some increase in recent months. The six-month moving average for multiples rose during the summer months of 2018 and declined until the first quarter of 2019. Since then, the six-month moving average for multiples has been fluctuating with some uptick since August 2020.
Nationally, housing starts decreased 12.6% to 228,279 in December 2020 compared to 261,152 in November 2020. Housing starts in Canada were up 16.1% compared to a year ago.
Eight provinces posted monthly decline with the largest monthly decline in Prince Edward Island (-56.0%), Manitoba (-40.5%), and Newfoundland and Labrador (-21.9%). Compared to the previous month, housing starts were up only in New Brunswick (+27.8%) and Alberta (+16.3%).
ANNUAL
Nova Scotia's annual housing starts were at a level of 4,865 in 2020, which was 3.1% higher than in 2019. Starts were higher for multiples and lower for singles in 2020.
Since 2011, starts for multiples have outnumbered starts for single detached units in Nova Scotia. In 2020, multiple starts increased to 2,951 while single detached starts fell to 1,914.
Housing starts were up 3.1% in Nova Scotia in 2020. Housing starts were up 4.4% across Canada in 2020. Six provinces reported increases compared to 2019, with the largest increases in Saskatchewan (+27.2%), New Brunswick (+18.7%) and Ontario (+17.9%). Prince Edward Island (-22.7%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (-19.3%) reported the largest decreases in housing starts over 2019.
During the COVID-19 pandemic housing starts declined in all provinces, falling below 10-year averages (2011-2020).
December housing starts in Canada were 12.0% above the 10-year average, while 3 of 10 provinces reported starts below the 10-year average. New Brunswick posted the largest increase (+143.3%). The largest decline in housing starts (relative to the 10-year average) was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador (-59.8%). December housing starts in Nova Scotia were 50.8% up the 10-year average.
Note: Urban areas are defined as areas over 10,000 people
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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