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April 21, 2026HOUSING STARTS, MARCH 2026 Monthly (March 2026 vs February 2026, seasonally adjusted annualized rate)
Nova Scotia’s housing starts (seasonally adjusted annualized rate) totalled 5,181 units in March 2026. This was a 31.6% decline from the previous month's revised value of 7,572 starts.
Housing starts in Halifax fell to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 2,811 units in March 2026. This was a 45.2% decline from 5,134 units in February 2026.
Outside of Halifax, housing starts declined to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 2,370 units in March 2026, down 2.8% from 2,438 units in February 2026.
Across Canada, housing starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 235,852 units in March 2026, down 6.0% from 250,961 units reported in February 2026.
Housing starts were down in all provinces except New Brunswick and Québec in March 2026, with the fastest percentage decline in Saskatchewan. Note: monthly changes in seasonally adjusted annualized housing starts are often volatile.
Year-over-year (March 2026 vs March 2025, seasonally adjusted annualized rate)
Nova Scotia's housing starts were down 31.9% compared with the 7,611 unit pace set in March 2025. Halifax housing starts were down 45.6% from their rate in March 2025 (5,171). Housing starts outside the city were down 2.9% year-over-year from their pace in March 2025 (2,440). Across Canada, housing starts were up 10.0% year-over-year in March 2026 with gains five provinces, led by Prince Edward Island. Saskatchewan reported the steepest year-over-year decline (followed by Nova Scotia).
In unadjusted results for Halifax in March 2026, there were 222 housing starts and 374 completions. From February to March, the stock of units under construction in Halifax fell to 13,468 units, though this was up 19.7% from units under construction in the same month last year (11,251).
Year-to-date (January-March 2025 vs January-March 2026)
Nova Scotia housing starts fell by 20.7% in the first three months of 2026 compared to the same period a year ago. Halifax housing starts decreased 33.6% in January-March 2026 compared to the same period a year ago, while housing starts in the rest of Nova Scotia rose 13.8%. Nationally, housing starts grew 7.9% in the first three months of 2026, with gains in seven provinces, led by New Brunswick and British Columbia. Saskatchewan reported the steepest year-to-date decline in housing starts (followed by Nova Scotia).
Quarterly (Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025, unadjusted, not annualized)
There were a total 1,394 housing starts in Nova Scotia in Q1 2026, down 21.3% from 1,771 starts reported in Q1 2025.
Starts for single detached dwellings fell 11.2% from 330 units in Q1 2025 to 293 units in Q1 2026.
Starts for multiple dwelling units also declined 23.6% from 1,441 in Q1 2025 to 1,101 starts in Q1 2026.
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