Canada's Multifamily Jump Pushes Country's Total Home Starts Higher

An increase in Canada's volatile multifamily housing start sector slightly boosted the country's total seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts for April compared to revised March figures. But the multifamily gain was largely offset in part by a month-to-month drop in single-family starts, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. chief economist Bob Dugan. In total, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of total April Canadian starts was 201,700 compared to 199,200 in March. Contributing to the total increase was a 5.1% jump to 182,500 urban unit starts in April that would have been higher had not a 12.7% drop in single-family urban starts to 83,900 units offset to some extent a 27.2% increase in urban multifamily starts to 98,600 units. Rural starts for the month were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 19,200 units.