Annual pace of housing starts down in May compared with April

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in May fell 6% compared with April.

The agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts came in at 261,377 units for May, down from 278,380 in April.

The six-month moving average for May edged up 0.5% to 258,010 units compared with 256,646 in April.

The results came as CMHC says the number of units under construction in centres with a population of 50,000 or more rose 0.9% month-over-month to 374,662 in May, while completions rose 10.6% compared with April to 16,880 units.

The number of units with approved building permits but not yet started was down 2.4% month-over-month to 138,842 units in May.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of rural starts was estimated at 14,357 units for May.

The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press is a national news agency headquartered in Toronto and founded in 1917.