OTTAWA – Total SAAR housing starts for all areas in Canada decreased 10% in January 2024 (223,589 units) compared to December 2023 (248,968), according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The six-month trend in housing starts decreased from 249,757 units in December 2023 to 244,827 units in January 2024, a 2% drop. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts for all areas in Canada. Despite these declines, the actual number of housing starts across Canada in centres of 10,000 population and over was up 13% to 14,878 units in January 2024 compared to 13,220 units in January 2023. The year-over-year increase was driven by high multi-unit starts. Actual housing starts were 49% higher year-over-year in Toronto but were 44% and 6% lower in Vancouver and Montreal, respectively.