Housing starts nationwide declined 10% in July from June of this year, according to the latest data from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC).
The federal agency cautioned though that July had a tough comparable as June was the strongest showing so far this year for housing starts across Canada.
CMHC said the annual rate of housing starts in July totaled 254,966 units compared with 283,498 in June.
The annual pace of urban starts was down 11% in July at 234,857, while the rate of multi-unit urban housing starts fell 12% to 193,446, and single-detached starts dropped 4% to 41,411.
CMHC added that housing starts in Vancouver fell 23%, while Toronto declined 29%. At the same time, Montreal housing starts rose 12% and Calgary increased 33%.
Rural housing starts were estimated at 20,109 in July, according to CMHC.
