OTTAWA — The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the pace of new home construction slowed in July for the first time in three months, mostly as a result of fewer multi-unit projects started in urban areas.
CMHC says the seasonally adjusted rate last month was 193,032 units nationally, down from 202,338 units in June.
Regionally, British Columbia showed an increase from June but there were declines in the other parts of Canada including the Greater Toronto Area.
The Ottawa-based federal agency had anticipated a slowdown but July's seasonally adjusted pace was below an estimate of 195,000 units from economists, according to Thomson Reuters.
CMHC says multi-unit housing projects in urban areas accounted for much of the decline, with a seasonally adjusted rate of 119,478 units in July — down 8.2 per cent from June.
There was also a slight decrease in the detached home segment of urban markets, which fell by 0.8 per cent to 57,520 units.
The six-month trend remained upward, rising to 185,586 units in July from 184,035 in June.
CMHC chief economist Bob Dugan said gains in multiple starts have offset declines in single starts over the last three months, largely due to more rental apartments, many of which are seniors' homes.
In British Columbia, the July seasonally adjusted rate for urban areas was 36,501 units, up from 34,870 in June. CMHC says B.C.'s new home construction has been keeping pace with demand, keeping supplies of unsold homes in check.
In Ontario, the rate fell to 49,047 units from 56,824 in June — although there was an increase in parts of the province outside of the Toronto area.
"For a second consecutive month, the trend in Ontario residential construction activity dipped due largely to the apartment sector," said CMHC regional economist Ted Tsiakopoulos in a statement.
"Low density housing construction, which is a better barometer of the health of the new construction market due to its stability, posted growth, suggesting that economic fundamentals continue to support provincial home starts."
