Annual pace of housing starts picked up in October, topped expectations

OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in October increased compared with September.

The housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts last month came in at 205,925 units, up from 189,730 in September.

Economists had expected an annual rate of 200,000, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.

The increase came as the annual pace of urban starts climbed by 8.6 per cent in October to 191,964 units. The annual rate of urban multiple-unit projects such as condominiums, apartments and townhouses increased by 16.8 per cent to 145,442. Single-detached urban starts fell 10.7 per cent to 46,522 units.

The six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates was 206,171 in October, down from 207,809 in September.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 13,961 units.

The Canadian Press