Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) says the pace of housing starts across the country is slowing as higher interest rates pressure the real estate market.
The Ottawa-based national housing agency said that November housing starts declined 0.2% from October.
The annual pace of urban starts across Canada was flat in November at 242,644 units.
CMHC said that multi-unit urban starts rose 2% to 190,415, but single-detached urban housing starts declined 7% to 52,229.
Housing starts in Toronto and Vancouver rose during the month, but they declined in Montreal, according to CMHC.
Housing starts in rural areas were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 21,515 across the country in November, said CMHC.
Canada’s housing market has cooled sharply in recent months as higher interest rates charged on mortgages push many potential homebuyers out of the market.
The average interest rate charged on a mortgage in Canada is now above 6%, according to industry data.
