Construction is declining in Canada, but not in Montreal

Andre Dubak
Tap

According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the trend for housing in April 2021 was 279,055. A 17% decline was observed in urban centers with 10,000 residents and more. This trend is a six-month moving average of seasonally adjusted and annual monthly housing numbers.

Quebec as a whole is following the same trend, with its housing opening rate falling 9%. However, the opposite is true for Gatino, Sagune, Montreal and, to a lesser extent, Quebec.

29% increase in Montreal area

In the Montreal area, the annual housing rate increased from 30,600 units in March 2021 to 39,600 in April 2021, an increase of 29%.

In fact, the Association of Construction and Housing Professionals of Quebec (APCHQ) says April is “an extraordinary” month for Montreal, as it is in Quebec Province.

Last month, we built 947 single-family homes in Quebec (+ 64% compared to April 2019) and 4,783 collective dwellings (+ 34% compared to April 2019).

Overall, this is a 38% increase compared to April 2019. Impossible to compare with April 2020, sites closed. “And, proof that we experienced another extraordinary month, this is the peak for the month of April,” said Paul Cardinal, director of APCHQ’s finance division.

In fact, CMHC listed 5,730 housing openings in Quebec. “This is a record since April, 1990, when the federal company made the data available. For the sixth month in a row, Quebec has recorded a significant increase in the number of households. Housing has begun,” APCHQ said in a press release.

From May 2020 to April 2021, 57,517 housing openings in Quebec represent a 42% increase over the past twelve months.