OTTAWA — Canadian housing starts dropped in August but construction remains elevated by historical standards.
Housing starts for August came in at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 260,239 units, a 3.9% decrease from 270,744 units in July, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Thursday. This was largely in line with market expectations for 266,500 starts in August, according to economists at Desjardins Securities.
The trend measure for August, or a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts, edged lower to 283,971 units, from roughly 286,000 units in the previous month.
CMHC said starts in urban markets dropped 4.7% to 235,782. Starts related to multiple-family units, like condos and apartments, decreased 5.7% to nearly 173,120 units, whereas construction on new single-detached homes fell 2% to 62,662 units.