Housing starts in Canada were trending at 180,291 units in August compared to 193,021 in July, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
"The trend in total housing starts continued to be relatively stable for a sixth consecutive month, remaining within a narrow range of roughly 182,000 to 188,000 units since March, 2013," Mathieu Laberge, deputy chief economist, said in a CMHC statement.
The standalone monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for urban starts decreased by 5.8% in August to 163,102 units, mostly because of declines in multiple starts. They were down 8.4% to 104,704 units in August. The single urban starts registered only a slight decline of 0.9% to 58,398 units.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased in Ontario, the province with more than a third of the population, and held steady in Atlantic Canada. They decreased in the other regions - the Prairie Provinces, British Columbia and Quebec.
On Monday this week, Statistics Canada reported an increase of 4.1% to C$2.2 billion for single-family dwellings in building permits issued in July by municipalities, and a 4.2% increase to C$1.9 billion for multi-family dwellings, over those issued in June. These increases occurred in six of the 10 provinces. They did not offset the 12.8% plunge recorded in June, Statistics Canada said.
Also in recent days, regional real estate boards reported increases in sales of existing homes, propelled by fears of higher mortgage interest rates coming, according to analysts and real estate agents. They ranged from 52% higher in Greater Vancouver, year-over-year, and 21% in Toronto and ranged from +30% to roughly +10% in other major urban centers.
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