Dreyer Group Mortgage Brokers

OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the pace of housing starts was down in October, compared with September, as the rate of new multiple-unit homes starting construction, including condominiums, slowed.

The agency estimates the standalone monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate was 183,604 units in October, down from 197,355 the previous month.

Economists had expected a rate of 200,000, according to Thomson Reuters.
CMHC says the pace of urban housing starts in October decreased across the country, with declines led by British Columbia and followed by Quebec, Atlantic Canada, the Prairies and Ontario.

It says the rate of urban starts came in at 164,683 in October, down from 177,053 in September. The drop was due to a slower pace of multiple-unit urban starts which fell to 98,673 compared with 114,539 in September. The rate of single-detached urban starts segment increased to 66,010 from 62,514.

The agency says rural starts recorded a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 18,921 in October.