OTTAWA- Housing starts in Canada experienced a slight decline last month, primarily due to a decrease in the construction of multifamily homes.
According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., housing starts in August stood at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 252,787 units, marking a 1% dip from the previous month. Economists at TD Securities had predicted 256,200 housing projects to commence during this period.
Canada’s national housing agency revealed that the trend measure, which represents a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts, showed a modest increase of 0.8% to reach 244,507 units in August.
In terms of urban starts, multifamily units such as condominiums and row houses experienced a decline of 1% to 191,250 units. However, single detached units saw a 2% increase, amounting to 41,825 units.
In specific cities, Vancouver witnessed a 12% decrease in housing starts, while Toronto experienced a sharper decline of 20%. In contrast, Montreal saw a significant rise of 41%, primarily driven by an increase in multifamily units.
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