Canada's Housing Starts Fall 1% In April

Housing starts in Canada declined 1% in April, compared to the previous month, but the number of units came in slightly higher than expectations, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) figures released Wednesday.

Housing starts stood at 240,229 units in April, down from 242,267 units in March, the CMHC said in a statement.

The market estimate for the figure was to come in at around 239,000.

Last May, the country saw housing starts plummet 23% to 202,494 units – the lowest in more than three years.

CMHC Chief Economist Bob Dugan said in a statement that the decline in housing starts during April was largely driven by fewer multi-unit starts, particularly in Ontario.

"The multi-unit volatility observed in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal in recent months is unsurprising as we continue to see last year's challenging borrowing conditions reflected in multi-unit housing starts numbers," he added. "We expect to see continued downward pressure in these large centres." -