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) anda 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," CMHCchief economistBob 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.