Housing starts dip in June

Canada's seasonally adjusted rate of housing starts hit 189,300 units in June, just a touch lower than what economists were expecting.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said Friday that's a 3.1 per cent decrease over the pace of the previous month. Economists were expecting a showing of 190,300.

The housing agency revised its April and May data upwards, resulting in a month-over-month gain of 3.7 per cent in April (205,900 units) and a 5.1 per cent decline in May.

"Housing starts decreased during June, largely because of the multiple starts segment in Ontario [but] the single starts segment was largely unchanged Canada-wide," CMHC chief economist Bob Dugan said.

The rate of urban multiple starts, which include multi-unit dwellings such as condominiums, decreased by 5.8 per cent to 89,200 units, while single urban starts edged higher by 1.4 per cent to 77,800 units.

"After a robust start to 2010, we expect the pace of housing start activity to moderate and total 182,000 units by year-end," Dugan said.