Figures released Tuesday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. show the pace of housing starts slowed in most regions of the country in October, with an especially big drop in British Columbia.
CMHC says the seasonally-adjusted annual rate fell to 192,928 units in October, down from 219,363 units in September.
The agency adds the drop came as the seasonally-adjusted annual rate of urban starts fell 12.1% in October to 176,131 units. Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 16,797 units.
Other numbers reveal multiple-unit urban starts dropped 15.3% to 115,402 units for the month, while single-detached urban starts slipped 5.4% to 60,729 units.
CMHC says the pace of urban housing starts picked up in Ontario last month but there were declines in Quebec, the Prairies, Atlantic Canada as well as B.C.
The annual pace of urban starts in B.C. fell to 25,517 in October compared with 46,294 in September.
