The data, released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) on Wednesday,
revealed that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts came in at 213,865
units in March, down 11.2 percent from a downwardly revised 240,927 units (from
243,959 units) in February.
Economists had forecast an annual pace of 237,800 for March.
According to the report, urban starts plunged 12.4 percent m-o-m last
month to 192,545 units, reflecting a 16.4 percent m-o-m tumble in single-detached
urban starts to 40,776 and an 11.3 percent m-o-m decline in multiple urban
starts to 151,769 units Meanwhile, rural starts were calculated at a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 21,320 units, up 0.8 percent m-o-m.