The FINANCIAL — Canadian housing starts fell 4.6% in July to an annual rate of 193,032 units, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said on August 11, according to Nasdaq.
The result was slightly below the 195,000 analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal expected.
Despite the dip from the prior month, CIBC called it “another solid reading.”
In July, urban housing starts fell 5.9% to 176,988 units. Multiple urban starts fell 8.2% to 119,478 units, while single-detached urban starts dipped 0.8% to 57,520 units, CMCH said.
“Housing starts in Canada have been trending higher over the past three months, with gains in multiple starts offsetting declines in single starts,” , CMHC said in a statement. It noted the decline in single starts is in line with CMHC’s expectations of purchasers moving away from higher priced single-detatched homes to lower-priced options.
CMHC said urban starts fell in Ontario, the Prairies, Atlantic Canada and Quebec, and rose in British Columbia.
Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16,034 units.
CIBC said the latest read on housing starts remains above the six- and 12-month averages, “highlighting how relatively unscathed the trend in housing starts have been from the oil shock, outside of the most affected provinces.”
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