The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts increased to 154,700 units in March from 136,100 units in February, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) said Wednesday.

“Higher multiple starts in Ontario and Quebec were the main contributors to the rise in new construction activity in March,” says Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre. “While the multiples segment experienced the largest increase, the overall boost in starts was broad based, encompassing the singles segment as well.”

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased 17% to 127,900 units in March. Urban multiple starts increased 28.3% to 81,500 units, while urban single starts moved up by 1.3% to 46,400 units in March.

March’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 35% in Ontario and by 23.3% in Quebec. Urban starts declined by 17.3% in British Columbia, by 7.9% in Atlantic Canada, and by 7.5% in the Prairies.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 26,800 units in March.

CMHC says new home construction is now at a more sustainable level after having been exceptionally strong over the past seven years, exceeding 200,000 units per year.

IE