Canada: Housing Starts shows solid level of activity – BMO

Robert Kavcic, a Director and Senior Economist at the bank of Montreal, recaps the data released by Canada regarding Housing Starts. USD/CAD is sitting at 1.4029.

Key quotes

“Canadian housing starts fell to 195,200 annualized units in March, from 210,600 in the prior month, a still-solid level of activity.”

“Canadian building permits fell 7.3% in February. The level of residential permits was 250k annualized, which was a still-heated level heading into the downturn.” 

“Residential construction activity isn’t getting completely shut down like some other sectors of the economy. But rules in some provinces have stopped new activity, while others working with preventative measures in place will still see output down meaningfully through the second quarter.”