August 2026 Housing Starts: 92% of Quebec's New Construction Is Multi-Unit

The August figures CMHC released on September 16, 2026 say two things at once. Canada is slowing slightly while the Montreal area is speeding up. And in Quebec, almost everything that breaks ground is something other than a single-detached house. That second fact tells you which kind of property new supply will compete with. For the broader picture of residential construction this year, see our article on Quebec housing starts in 2026.

August's numbers, in three measures that are not interchangeable

CMHC's September 16, 2026 release presents three measures that do not tell quite the same story. The six-month trend, which smooths out month-to-month swings, stands at 244,149 units for Canada, down 1.3% from July. The seasonally adjusted annual rate, which projects August alone over a full year, reaches 229,046 units, compared with 229,360 in July. And actual starts in centres of 10,000 people or more total 17,691 in August, versus 18,112 in August 2025, a 2% decline.

All three point the same way, a mild pullback, but not by the same amount: the annual rate slips only about 0.1% from one month to the next, while actual starts are down 2% year over year. The six-month trend is the steadiest of the three, and it is the one we use below to compare regions and dwelling types.

In the same release, Kevin Hughes, CMHC's deputy chief economist, said he expects the decline to continue, particularly toward the end of the year. That is the agency's expectation, not a measured figure.

In Quebec, more than nine in ten housing starts are multi-unit

Across the province, in centres of 10,000 people or more, the six-month trend counts 56,551 « other » dwellings, meaning anything that is not a single-detached house, against 4,796 single-detached homes. The math is straightforward: 56,551 / (56,551 + 4,796) = 92.2%. For every single-detached house that starts, close to twelve multi-unit dwellings break ground.

The two segments are not moving the same way. In Quebec, single-detached starts are down 3% and other dwellings are up 1%. Nationally it is the reverse: single-detached starts rise 2%, to 45,067 units, and other dwellings fall 2%, to 199,081 units. Measured against the sum of these two categories, the national multi-unit share is 81.5%, more than ten points below Quebec's.

Source: CMHC, release of September 16, 2026, August data. Shares calculated by CourtiConnect from the published figures.

Montreal speeds up while Canada and Quebec City slow down

In the same release, the Montreal CMA trend reaches 30,492 units, up 6%. The Quebec City CMA trend stands at 9,801 units, down 1%, and the national trend falls 1.3%. Montreal is the only one of the three moving up.

Measured against the provincial trend of 61,347 dwellings, that is 56,551 plus 4,796, the Montreal CMA accounts for roughly half, 49.7%, and Quebec City for about 16%. These shares are an order of magnitude calculated from the published trends, not a breakdown provided by CMHC.

The figures quoted here do not break down dwelling types for the Montreal CMA on its own. What can be said without extrapolating comes down to two facts: the province builds more than 92% multi-unit, and close to half of its construction sits in a Montreal area that is accelerating.

What a new apartment competes with, and what it does not

A housing start is future supply, and supply only competes with what resembles it. A new unit in a multi-unit building speaks to someone buying a condo or renting an apartment far more than to a household looking for a detached house with a yard.

That is the most concrete consequence of the August numbers. The new supply taking shape in Quebec will arrive mainly as multi-unit housing, sold as condos or put up for rent, and those two markets are where it will weigh first. The single-detached home, 7.8% of what is starting in the province, or 4,796 out of 61,347, faces little new competition.

One limit to keep in mind: the figures cited do not say what share of these multi-unit dwellings will be sold as condos and what share will be rented. The same category of starts feeds both markets, and the split is decided project by project.

A start is not a delivery

A housing start is not an available home. Between the first day of construction and the handing over of keys lies a delay that depends on the project, and that none of the figures released in September measures.

The homes started in August therefore do not add to this fall's supply. They will add to it later, in a market that may have shifted in the meantime. Reading housing starts as a measure of current supply gets them backwards: they describe supply still to come. The decline CMHC expects toward year end should be read with the same lag.

For condo sellers, competition in the making

A condo owner in the Montreal area thinking of selling in the coming years is looking at a market where most of the province's new construction takes a form close to their own property. That is not a price forecast; it is information about the competitive field: a buyer comparing condos will, over time, have new units among their options.

For the owner of a single-detached house, the picture flips: new construction of that type is under 8% of what is starting, and the competition they meet will come mainly from existing homes. For a buyer, the same figure shows where the new choice will be: in multi-unit buildings far more than in detached houses.

What these figures do not tell you

Housing starts say nothing about prices, new or resale. They do not say what share of multi-unit housing will be rented or sold, or exactly when each project will be delivered. They describe the shape of upcoming supply, not its effect on any given transaction.

For a decision to sell, the data that matters remains actual sales in your area and for your type of property. That is what places your home today, before the new supply arrives.