The data, published
by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) on Tuesday, showed that the
seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts came in at 214,155 units in March,
down 3.3 per cent from a downwardly revised 221,405 units (from 229,030 units)
in February. This was the lowest reading since August 2024 (212,923 units).
Economists had predicted
an annual pace of 242,500 in March.
According to
the report, urban starts dropped by 2.8 per cent m-o-m last month to 203,285 units,
the lowest level in seven months, reflecting a 3.7 per cent m-o-m plunge in
multiple urban starts to 160,273 that was partly offset by a 0.7 per cent m-o-m advance in single-detached
urban starts to 43,012.
Meanwhile, rural
starts were calculated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 10,870 units, down
11.7 per cent m-o-m.