“Housing starts in May moved up from the strong level posted in April. Most of the increase reflected a rise in single starts, which in April had reached their lowest level since May 2001,” says Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre.

In May the seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts edged up by 4% to 192,800 units compared to April. Urban multiples rose 1.9% to 116,100 in May, while singles increased 7.3% to 76,700 units.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts went up in all regions of Canada, except Ontario, which saw a decrease of 7.4% to 67,600 in May. Urban starts increased to 8,900 units in Atlantic Canada, 44,100 units in Quebec, 36,800 units in the Prairies, and 35,400 units in British Columbia. In terms of single urban starts, all regions were up in May.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 28,500 units in May.

For the first five months of 2008, actual starts in rural and urban areas combined were up an estimated 0.7% compared to the same period last year. Year-to-date actual starts in urban areas have increased by an estimated 5.6% over the same period in 2007. Actual urban single starts for the five months of this year were 14.8% lower than they were a year earlier, while multiple starts increased by 22.7% over the same period.