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December 08, 2023HOUSING STARTS, OCTOBER 2023 Monthly (October 2023, seasonally adjusted annualized rate)
Nova Scotia’s housing starts (seasonally adjusted annualized rate) totalled 10,050 units in October 2023. This was up 23.7% from the revised estimate of 8,123 units in September 2023.
Housing starts in Halifax rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 7,944 units in October 2023, up 17.9% from 6,738 units in September 2023.
Outside of Halifax, housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 2,106 units, up 52.1% from 1,385 units in September 2023.
Across Canada, housing starts increased to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 274,681 units in October 2023, up 1.5% from 270,669 units in September 2023.
Housing starts were down in 6 of 10 provinces last month, with the largest percentage decrease in Manitoba. Tthe largest percentage increase was in Prince Edward Island.
Year-over-year (October 2023 vs October 2022)
Nova Scotia's housing starts were up 178.6% compared with October 2022 - the largest year-over-year increase among provinces. Halifax housing starts were 713.9% up their level from October 2022; this 8-fold increase reflects a very low level of housing starts in October 2022 and a very high level in October 2023. Housing starts outside the city were down 20.0% year-over-year. Across Canada, housing starts were up 3.9% year-over-year in October with gains in six provinces. Manitoba reported the largest year-over-year percentage decline in housing starts.
In unadjusted results for Halifax in October 2023, there were 653 housing starts and 152 completions. The stock of units under construction rose to 8,120 units in Halifax.
Year-to-date (January-October 2023 vs January-October 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 ten months of 2023, Nova Scotia’s housing starts were up 9.5% compared to the same period in 2022. Halifax housing starts increased 17.8% and starts outside the city were down 3.6%. Across Canada, housing starts were down 6.8% in January-October 2023 with declines all provinces except British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Ontario. Newfoundland and Labrador and Québec reported the largest percentage declines in year-to-date housing starts.
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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