The pace of new residential construction in Canada slowed down in October after a red-hot September, allaying to some degree concerns of overbuilding in certain markets.
The country’s housing agancy, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., said Monday last month’s seasonally adjusted rate of housing starts was 198,065 units, down from 231,304 in September — primarily because of fewer condo starts in urban areas.
The reading was below the consensus call held by economists, which was for 200,000 annualized starts.
“Another strong print of well above 200,000 would have started to intensify talk of potential overbuilding,” BMO economist Benjamin Reitzes said. “Indeed, the chunky October decline was welcome.”
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The number of condo, or “multi-unit”, starts that began last month declined by 22 per cent from the previous month, data showed.
CMHC says the decline in urban starts was seen in most regions of Canada, with British Columbia being the exception. The overall number of single-detached starts was up from September, but accounted for only 59,255 of the total.
CMHC says the six-month trend in October continued to rise, going to 206,089 from 202,793 in September.
The decline in housing starts wasn’t deep enough to alter the upward trend over the past six months.
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— With files from The Candian Press
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