The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 211,000 units in August, up from 186,500 units in July, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC).

“After a brief pause in July, the volatile multiple segment bounced back to a level of activity that is more consistent with our forecast for this year,” said Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre, in a release. “Most of the volatility in housing starts over the last three months reflected swings in multiple starts in Ontario.”

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts rose 15.2% in August compared to July. Both urban multiples and singles moved higher, with an increase of 25.2% for multiples to 114,700 units, and a 2.0% increase for singles to 71,200 units.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts was down in every region except Ontario where housing starts jumped 81.0% to 86,500. Urban starts sagged 22.5% to 23,700 units in the Prairies and dropped 11.5 in Atlantic Canada. Smaller declines of 8.7% and 8.2% were recorded in Quebec (37,600 units) and British Columbia (30,400 units) respectively.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 25,100 units in August.

For the first eight months of 2008, actual starts in rural and urban areas combined were down an estimated 4.3% compared to the same period last year. Year-to-date actual starts in urban areas have increased by an estimated 1.0% over the same period in 2007. Actual urban single starts for the January to August period of this year were 16.8% lower than they were a year earlier, while urban multiple starts were up by 17.6% over the same period.