The data, published by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) on Monday,
showed that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts came in at 261,559
units in April, up 22.3 percent from a downwardly revised 213,780 units (from 213,865
units) in March. That was the highest reading
since November 2022 (263,177 units).
Economists had predicted an annual pace of 220,000 for April.
According to the report, urban starts surged 25 6 percent m-o-m last
month to 241,585 units, reflecting a 33.0 percent m-o-m climb in multiple urban
starts to 201,621 units (the highest figure since October 2022 (241986)) that
was partly offset by a 1.8 percent m-o-m fall in single-detached urban starts
to 39,964 (the lowest number since April 2020 (35,937)).
Meanwhile, rural starts were calculated at a seasonally adjusted annual
rate of 19,974 units, down 6.8 percent m-o-m. That was the weakest print since June
2022 (16,414).