The annual pace of housing starts dropped in December, but remain at an “elevated” level when compared with historical averages, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Wednesday. The national housing agency reported the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in Canada was 213,419 units in December, down from 224,349 in November. “Total annual housing starts in 2018 were lower than in 2017, as lower single-detached starts more than offset a slight increase in multi-family starts this year,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist in a statement Wednesday. “Nonetheless, total housing starts remain elevated when compared to historical averages.”Article Continued BelowCMHC said preliminary figures, which are subject to revision, show that there were a total of 214,020 housing starts in 2018 versus 219,763 in 2017. It had previously predicted that housing starts would range between 192,200 to 203,000 for 2018.

Source: thestar January 09, 2019 13:52 UTC