Canadian Housing Starts Rise

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of Canadian housing starts rose to 230,400 units in April, up 5.5% from 218,400 units in March, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp."The strength in housing starts in April was broadly based regionally and in both single and multiple homes, lifting total starts above the 230,000 mark," said Bob Dugan, a chief economist at CMHC. "[Favorable] economic factors, such as high levels of employment and low mortgage rates, continue to stimulate residential construction activity." The CMHC can be found online at http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca.