Canada: Housing starts rose for the first time in four months - NBF

Data released today showed that housing starts in Canada jumped from 166.3K in February to 192.5K in March. National Bank of Canada analyst Kyle Dahms point out that despite the fact that housing starts surged in March, it is not enough for a positive first quarter. 

Key Quotes:

“Housing starts rose for the first time in four months in March. Recall that starts had dropped in the prior month to their lowest level in over three years with significant declines for both multiples and singles. Indeed, it wasn’t too surprising to see single starts recover in March from their lowest level ever observed in February.”

“Separately, multis were the largest contribution to the monthly increase, having sprung back to a level more in tune with the number of permits granted in this category in recent months.”

“Looking at the quarterly perspective, after having increased in the last quarter of 2018, housing starts in Canada declined in Q1 2019. The outlook for Canada as a whole is not so bleak. Recently, financing costs have come down while the federal government has announced a slew of measures to address affordability. Combined, these factors should help starts average more than 190K this year.”