Canadian Housing Starts Rise

Canadian housing starts rose on a seasonally adjusted basis to 218,500 in March from 217,800 in February, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp."The high level of starts in March indicates that demand for new housing remains strong, supported by low mortgage rates and high levels of employment," said Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC. "Housing starts were lower than they were a year earlier, suggesting that activity in the housing market is slowing from its peak level set in 2004." CMHC can be found on the Internet at http://www.cmhc.-schl.gc.ca.