Canada’s annual pace of housing starts increased by eight per cent in October.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts came in at 240,761 units.
That was compared to 223,391 units in September, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
“Despite these results, we remain well below what is required to restore affordability in Canada’s urban centres,” Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist, said in a news release.
Figures provided by the corporation show the annual rate of urban starts increased by six per cent to 223,111.
Multi-unit urban starts climbed seven per cent to 175,705 units while single-detached urban starts were up one per cent to 47,406 units.
The annual rate of rural starts was estimated to be around 17,650 units, according to the corporation.
Meanwhile, the six-month trend in housing starts was flat at 243,522 units. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate of total housing starts.
The actual number of housing starts so far this year in urban centres is statistically unchanged at 188,567.
“Actual year-to-date housing starts are similar to last year, but we continue to see higher activity in the Prairie provinces, Québec and the Atlantic provinces, while Ontario and British Columbia have seen declines in all housing types,” said Dugan.
