Housing starts in Canada and the U.S. rose in November amid a continued property shortage in both countries. The indicator measure the number of new residential construction projects that begin during any given month.
In Canada, the print rose from 264,583 units in October, to 267,365 units in November, according data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The data is a measure of the six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates of housing starts. Prior monthly trends had seen declines. The largest increases in Canada were in multi-family units, while single-detached in urban areas saw a slight decline.
Meanwhile in the United States, housing starts surged 11.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.679 million units in November, the highest level since March. An acute shortage of available properties was responsible for the jump, even amid pricing constraints and labor shortages. Permits for future homebuilding increased 3.6% to a rate of 1.712 million units in November.
The housing starts print is seen as a key economic indicator, with knock-on effects to related industries including mortgages, raw materials, employment, construction, manufacturing, real estate and banking. People are more likely to purchase new homes in a strong economy, less likely in a weak economy.
