Housing starts lower in July, fewer multiple-unit projects after busy June: CMHC

OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says there was a slowdown in housing construction starts in July, following a near-record high in the previous month.

The federal Crown corporation says the seasonally adjusted rate of housing starts dropped to 206,314 units in July, from 346,200 in June.

Urban multiple-unit projects such as condos and apartments declined by 20.3 per cent from June to 136,231 units in July, while single-detached urban starts decreased by 3.6 per cent month-over-month to 53,862 units.

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

CMHC notes that the six-month trend for housing starts remained well above historical averages due to elevated levels of multi-unit housing starts in most major markets.

In a separate report, Statistics Canada says its national index of new housing prices edged up 0.1 per cent in June, mainly due to higher construction costs.

The Canadian Press