Economics

Canada Housing Starts Soar to Highest Since At Least 1970s

A "Sold" sign in front of a row of homes in a subdivision in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, on Thursday, March 11, 2021. The buying, selling and building of homes in Canada takes up a larger share of the economy than it does in any other developed country in the world, according to the Bank of International Settlements, and also soaks up a larger share of investment capital than in any of Canada’s peers.Photographer: Cole Burston/Bloomberg

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By Shelly Hagan

April 19, 2021 at 12:53 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Canadian housing starts jumped to the highest level in more than four decades as developers seek to take advantage of a hot real estate market.

Builders started work on an annualized 335,200 units last month, a jump of 22% from February’s already elevated levels, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Monday. That beats economist predictions for a 255,000 increase and was the highest monthly total since at least 1977. The gain was led by construction of multi-family dwellings like condos.