{
  "id": "housing-starts",
  "category": "Housing and homelessness",
  "title": "New homes started (last 12 months)",
  "geography": "Victoria census metropolitan area (Greater Victoria)",
  "scope": "region",
  "levels": [
    "Private builders",
    "Municipal and Provincial approvals and policy"
  ],
  "plain_question": "How many new homes did builders begin construction on over the past year?",
  "value": 4060.0,
  "display_value": "4,060",
  "unit": "homes started (total of the latest 12 months)",
  "period": "12 months to September 2026",
  "period_start": "2025-10-01",
  "period_end": "2026-09-01",
  "comparison": {
    "previous_period": "12 months to September 2025",
    "previous_value": 4890.0,
    "change_percent": -17.0
  },
  "trend": "worsening",
  "trend_basis": "4,060 homes in the 12 months to September 2026 compared with 4,890 in the 12 months to September 2025 (-17.0%).",
  "direction_good": "up",
  "right_direction": "A higher number means builders began construction on more new homes.",
  "caveats": [
    "A start is when construction begins on a new home (the foundation is in place). It is not a completion and does not show whether homes are affordable.",
    "Monthly counts swing a lot, because one large building can add hundreds of homes in a single month, so this page adds up 12 months. The 12-month total is calculated here from CMHC's monthly counts.",
    "Counts include all home types (houses, row homes, apartments and condominiums, and purpose-built rentals).",
    "The area is the Victoria census metropolitan area, which is larger than the City of Victoria. Geographic definitions are updated every five years, so historical comparisons are not exact."
  ],
  "series": [
    {
      "period": "2024-10",
      "value": 4466.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-11",
      "value": 4312.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-12",
      "value": 4185.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-01",
      "value": 4108.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-02",
      "value": 3974.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-03",
      "value": 3881.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-04",
      "value": 3766.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-05",
      "value": 3992.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-06",
      "value": 4618.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-07",
      "value": 4846.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-08",
      "value": 5026.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-09",
      "value": 4890.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-10",
      "value": 4955.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-11",
      "value": 4913.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-12",
      "value": 4859.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-01",
      "value": 5161.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-02",
      "value": 5173.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-03",
      "value": 4939.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-04",
      "value": 5412.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-05",
      "value": 5269.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-06",
      "value": 4392.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-07",
      "value": 3977.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-08",
      "value": 3411.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-09",
      "value": 4060.0
    }
  ],
  "refresh_frequency": "Monthly",
  "data_published": "2026-10-19",
  "source": {
    "name": "Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Starts and Completions Survey, published by Statistics Canada",
    "url": "https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/professionals/housing-markets-data-and-research/housing-data/data-tables/housing-market-data",
    "dataset_url": "https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/d0e77820-0bd2-4fcd-9098-17fb3283ae12",
    "table_url": "https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3410015401",
    "table": "34-10-0154-01"
  },
  "licence": {
    "name": "CMHC Licence Agreement for the Use of Data",
    "url": "https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/about-us/terms-conditions/hmip-terms-conditions",
    "also_listed_as": {
      "name": "Open Government Licence - Canada",
      "url": "https://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada"
    },
    "note": "The open.canada.ca record lists this table under the Open Government Licence - Canada; the Statistics Canada table footnote says CMHC's licence governs. Both allow free reuse with attribution."
  },
  "attribution": "Adapted from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Starts and Completions Survey (housing starts, all unit types), 12 months to September 2026. This does not constitute an endorsement by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation of this product. Adapted from Statistics Canada, table 34-10-0154-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.",
  "retrieved_at": "2026-11-11T06:52:42Z"
}