Toronto Housing Starts Trend Was Flat in September, CMHC Says

This report by Editorial team is based on information published by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the six-month trend for housing starts in the Toronto census metropolitan area was flat in September 2026. The trend stood at 24,837 units, down one per cent from 25,125 in August. CMHC said the trends for single-detached and multi-unit starts moved in opposite directions and largely offset each other.

In the Toronto table, single-detached starts rose two per cent to 2,657, while the all-others category, dominated by multi-unit homes, fell two per cent to 22,180. Those are trend figures, not a count of every home that broke ground in one month. CMHC uses the six-month moving average to smooth the large swings that apartment and condominium projects can create from month to month.

National picture behind the Toronto number

Across Canada, the trend measure rose slightly, by 0.6, to 250,411 units. The monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate for all areas rose three per cent to 248,896 units in September, compared with 242,223 in August. Actual starts in centres with at least ten thousand residents were 19,984 in September, down eleven per cent from the same month a year earlier. Year-to-date actual starts were 170,964, down four per cent.

Montreal posted an eight per cent decrease in its six-month trend, driven by lower multi-unit starts. Vancouver recorded a six per cent increase on higher multi-unit starts. Toronto, sitting between those two movements, showed steadiness in the headline trend rather than a clear acceleration or drop.

Why the pipeline still matters

A flat trend does not mean construction sites are quiet. Toronto still has a very large number of homes moving through construction, and completions turn approved plans into homes people can occupy. Buyers and renters should read starts together with completions and units under construction, not as a monthly verdict on affordability.

The next CMHC release, covering October, is scheduled for November 17 at 8:15 a.m. Eastern. Toronto Daily will compare the Toronto trend, the multi-unit component and completions when that update arrives, using the same CMHC definitions.