By Paul Vieira
OTTAWA--Canadian housing starts in November rose, edging above market expectations.
The results exposed a deep divide between regions, with declines in the Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia markets offset by strength elsewhere in the country.
Housing starts across Canada came in at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 254,058 units, a 9.4% increase from the month before, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Monday. Expectations were for housing starts to hit 247,500, according to Bank of Nova Scotia.
However, the trend measure--a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts--fell 1.7% to 264,445 units last month, the national housing agency said.
"Both the six-month trend and actual starts fell in November, showing signs of slowing momentum in residential construction," said CMHC's deputy chief economist, Kevin Hughes. CMHC said unadjusted starts were down 3% from a year ago in markets with a population greater than 10,000.
Earlier Monday, data from the Canadian Real Estate Association indicated that existing-home sales fell 0.6% from the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis, and dropped nearly 11% from a year ago on an unadjusted basis.
Confidence among Canadian home builders is a record low, according to the Canadian Home Builders' Association, reflecting concern over sales and elevated trade-policy uncertainty.
Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-15-25 0850ET
