Housing · CMHC release
CMHC revised Canada's housing starts sharply higher for July and August
CMHC's September release raised its estimate of July's annual pace of housing starts by 17,267 and August's by 13,177. Those are revisions to annual-rate estimates, not a count of extra homes. September came in at a 248,896 annual pace.
CMHC now says Canada started homes at an annual pace of 242,223 in August. A month ago it said 229,046.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) made that change in its September release, out Friday. July was revised from 229,074 when first published to 246,341, up about 17,000. August went up about 13,000. These are annualized estimates (what a full year would add at that month's pace), not the number of homes started in the month.
September on the new base
September came in at 248,896, up 2.8% from the revised August. CMHC's release rounds that to 3%. Because August was revised up, September's rise is measured against a higher starting point than the one reported a month ago. Against the first-published August, it would have looked like an 8.7% jump. September's pace is still 11.4% below September 2025's 280,826.
CMHC leads with the six-month trend, which smooths the swings. It stands at 250,411, up from a revised 248,857 for August (CMHC put it at 244,149 a month ago), which the agency calls "virtually flat."
How big the revisions are
In the 21 monthly CMHC files we hold (January 2025 to September 2026), the changes this release made to July and August are the two largest that any single release made to any month. We can't say how they compare with earlier years.
Revisions have not all gone one way this year. April was revised down by about 8,600, from 279,317 to 270,692, and May by about 6,900, from 261,377 to 254,477.
In the new tables, the small-town and rural part of the estimate (areas outside centres of 10,000 or more) is 20,031 for July and 18,272 for August, against 11,274 and 11,224 when first published. Centres of 10,000 or more were also revised up: July from 217,800 to 226,310, August from 217,822 to 223,951. CMHC's release does not mention the revisions, and CMHC has not said why they happened.
Ontario's September drop followed a weak August
Ontario's actual September starts in centres of 10,000 or more were 4,054, against 7,465 a year earlier, down 46%. All of the drop was in homes other than single-detached houses (semi-detached, row and apartment units): 2,994 against 6,597. Single-detached starts rose, to 1,060 from 868. Over January to September, Ontario's centres of 10,000 or more are down 4.6% (43,994 against 46,111). September 2025 was a strong month, which makes the drop look bigger, but August was weak too: Ontario's annual pace was 41,983 in August and 45,291 in September, against 69,806 in the second quarter.
September's 249,000 is a first estimate
CMHC's first estimates can change substantially in later releases. July and August were both revised higher this time, but revisions can also go the other way. September's 249,000 annual pace is the latest estimate, not a final count.
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Source: CMHC, Housing starts and construction data for September 2026 (October 16, 2026), and Monthly Housing Starts and Other Construction Data Tables, January 2025 to September 2026 editions. Next release: November 17, 2026, 08:15 ET.
