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July 17, 2026HOUSING STARTS, JUNE 2026 Monthly (June 2026 vs May 2026, seasonally adjusted annualized rate)
Nova Scotia’s housing starts (seasonally adjusted annualized rate) totalled 6,392 units in June 2026. This was a 47.3% decline from the previous month's revised value of 12,122 starts.
Housing starts in Halifax decelerated to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 3,600 units in June 2026. This was a 60.9% decline from 9,216 units in May 2026.
Outside of Halifax, housing starts decreased to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 2,792 units in June 2026, down 3.9% from 2,906 units in May 2026.
Across Canada, housing starts declined to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 238,971 units in June 2026, down 5.6% from 253,083 units reported in May 2026.
Housing starts were down in five provinces in June 2026, with the fastest percentage declines in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. The fastest gain was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador. Note: monthly changes in seasonally adjusted annualized housing starts are often volatile.
Year-over-year (June 2026 vs June 2025, seasonally adjusted annualized rate)
Nova Scotia's housing starts were down 30.8% compared with the 9,237 unit pace set in June 2025. Halifax housing starts were down 35.0% from their rate in June 2025 (5,536). Housing starts outside the city were down 24.6% year-over-year from their pace in June 2025 (3,701). Across Canada, housing starts were down 15.9% year-over-year in June 2026 with declines in six provinces. The fastest decline was reported in British Columbia. The fastest gains were reported in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
In unadjusted results for Halifax in June 2026, there were 334 housing starts and 144 completions. From May to June, the stock of units under construction in Halifax rose to 14,414 units, this was up 24.5% from units under construction in the same month last year (11,580).
Year-to-date (January-June 2025 vs January-June 2026)
Nova Scotia housing starts fell by 24.2% in the first six months of 2026 compared to the same period a year ago, the fastest decline among provinces. Halifax housing starts decreased 34.0% in January-June 2026 compared to the same period a year ago, while housing starts in the rest of Nova Scotia rose 1.0%. Nationally, housing starts dropped 1.8% in the first six months of 2026, despite gains in six provinces, led by Manitoba.
Quarterly (Q2 2026 vs Q2 2025, unadjusted, not annualized)
There were a total 2,000 housing starts in Nova Scotia in Q2 2026, down 26.4% from 2,717 starts reported in Q2 2025.
Starts for single detached dwellings fell 15.8% from 625 units in Q2 2025 to 526 units in Q2 2026.
Starts for multiple dwelling units also declined 29.5% from 2,092 in Q2 2025 to 1,474 starts in Q2 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