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October 18, 2023HOUSING STARTS, SEPTEMBER 2023 Monthly (September 2023, seasonally adjusted annualized rate)
Nova Scotia’s housing starts (seasonally adjusted annualized rate) totalled 8,068 units in September 2023. This was up 171.9% from the revised estimate of 2,967 units in August 2023.
Housing starts in Halifax rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 6,723 units in September 2023, up 354.9% from 1,478 units in August 2023.
Outside of Halifax, housing starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1,345 units, down 9.7% from 1,489 units in August 2023.
Across Canada, housing starts increased to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 270,466 units in September 2023, up 8.0% from 250,383 units in August 2023.
Housing starts were up in 5 of 10 provinces last month, with the largest percentage increase in Nova Scotia and the largest percentage decrease in Prince Edward Island.
Year-over-year (September 2023 vs September 2022)
Nova Scotia's housing starts were up 117.1% compared with September 2022 - the largest year-over-year increase among provinces. Halifax housing starts were 622.1% up their level from September 2022 and starts outside the city were down 51.7% compared to the same month last year. Across Canada, housing starts were down 9.2% year-over-year in September with declines in three provinces. The largest percentage declines were in Ontario and British Columbia.
Year-to-date (January-September 2023 vs January-September 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 nine months of 2023, Nova Scotia’s housing starts were down 1.8% compared to the same period in 2022. Halifax housing starts decreased 2.1% and starts outside the city were down 1.4%. Across Canada, housing starts were down 8.0% in January-September 2023 with declines all provinces except British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Newfoundland and Labrador and Québec reported the largest percentage declines in housing starts.
Quarterly (Q3 2023, unadjusted)
Nova Scotia's unadjusted housing starts amounted to 1,716 in Q3 2023, down from 1,791 in Q3 of 2022.
There were 656 single-detached unit starts in Nova Scotia in Q3 2023, down from 792 in Q3 2022.
Nova Scotia's multiple unit starts were up from 999 in Q3 2022 to 1,060 in Q3 2023.
Note: Completions and units under construction data for Q3 2023 are not published by Statistics Canada.
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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