Housing starts in Canada were trending at 218,500 units in June, according to new data from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC).
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 2.6% to 199,500 units in June. Urban single starts decreased slightly by 0.3% in June to 67,500 units, while multiple urban starts increased by 4.1% to 132,000 units.
June's seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 7.7% in Atlantic Canada, by 17.3% in Quebec and by 31.2% in British Columbia. Urban starts decreased by 6.9% in the Prairies and by 9% in Ontario. Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 23,200 units in June.
‘CMHC still expects the pace of housing starts to moderate as the year progresses,’ says Mathieu Laberge, deputy chief economist at CMHC's Market Analysis Centre.