Canadian Housing Starts Dip 16 Percent in July

Housing starts in Canada saw a decline of 16 percent in July, falling to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 206,314 units compared with a rate of 246,200 units in June, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

The downward trend in housing starts reflected a drop in the seasonally adjusted annual rate of multi-unit dwellings in urban areas, which saw near-historical highs in June, according to CMHC Chief Economist Bob Dugan, who noted that the six-month trend for housing starts remained “well above” historical averages.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts dropped 16.2 percent in July to 190,093 units as multi-unit urban starts fell 20.3 percent to 136,231 units. Single-detached urban starts fell 3.6 percent to 53,862 units.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16,221 units.