CMHC: Housing starts lower

New figures from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. show that housing starts were down in October; mainly due to a slowdown in condo construction.

New figures from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. show that housing starts were down in October; mainly due to a slowdown in condo construction. Builders broke ground on 183,604 from a revised 197,355 in September according to the seasonally adjusted annualized rate. Robert Kavic of BMO Capital Markets says that the levels of starts are at roughly the right level to meet demand. CMHC chief economist Bob Dugan notes: "The decrease in the trend reflects a decline, in October, of starts of multi-unit dwellings, including condominiums. Given the elevated level of condominium units under construction, our expectation is that condominium starts will continue to trend lower over the coming months."