Canada's Seasonally Adjusted Start Rate Falters in March

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of Canadian housing starts tracked by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. fell slightly in March based on revised numbers for the previous two months. At 197,300 units, seasonally adjusted March starts were down 1.5% from the previous month's revised seasonally adjusted start rate of 200,400 units. February's revised seasonally adjusted start rate was up 6% from January's revised seasonally adjusted start rate of 189,000 units. January's revised seasonally adjusted start rate put its month-over-month gain at 7.5%. "The moderation in March housing starts was due to a decrease in the volatile multiple starts segment. Helping to offset this was an increase in singles starts as well as more activity in rural areas," said Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC.