Canadian housing starts continue to be rocky. After a huge 23 per cent spike in April, the number of new builds slowed their pace in May, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reports.
Housing starts dropped from 233,410 units in April to 202,337 units in May. That’s a 13.3 per cent decline in the seasonally adjusted annual rate.
READ: Getting Warmer: GTA Home Sales Continue To Improve In May
The number of new builds in May was lower than what economists had pegged the average to be. They had previously expected an annual rate of 205,000, according to projections by Thomson Reuters Eikon, The Canadian Press reports.
Naturally, two of Canada’s biggest housing markets, Vancouver and Toronto, had the most housing starts by a long shot. They had 42,667 and 19,943 new builds, respectively, last month.
In comparison, Calgary and Ottawa followed behind with just 9,545 and 7,624 housing starts in May, respectively.
READ: One Economist Thinks Canada’s Housing Market Could Weaken Next Year
Across the country, construction picked up the pace slightly on single-detached urban homes. These new builds rose by 1.8 per cent to 45,095. Conversely, multiple-unit urban projects — condos, apartments and townhouses — saw a sharp decline in May. They fell by 18.5 per cent to 141,851.
