Canada's housing starts fall 5% in December

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Housing starts in Canada declined approximately 5% to 248,625 units in December, from the previous month, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said Tuesday.

While the market expectation was for the figure to come in at around 257,000 units, housing starts stood at 263,000 in November.

"Multi-unit urban starts decreased 4% to 182,850 units, while single-detached urban starts fell 11% to 44,858 units," CMHC said in a statement.

However, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver all posted increases in total seasonally adjusted annual rates housing starts, with Toronto posting a significant increase of 72% in December, according to CMHC's Chief Economist Bob Dugan, who said demand for housing in Canada will continue to grow.

"We need to find innovative ways to deliver more housing supply and keep building at a higher pace in the coming years in order to improve affordability," he said.