Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the pace of housing starts in September slowed compared with August.

The agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate fell 2.5% to 221,202 units in September compared with 226,871 in August.

Economists on average had expected an annual pace of 214,500 for September, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

The decrease came as the pace of urban starts fell 2.4% to 208,503 units. Multiple-unit urban starts dipped 0.2% to 159,742, while starts of single-detached urban homes fell 9.2% to 48,761 units.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 12,699 units.

The six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates of housing starts was 223,507 in September, up from 218,782 in August.