The annual rate of housing starts across the country slipped to 189,200 last month.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reports that's a 1.6-per-cent decline after the agency revised June rate upward to 192,300 from 189,300.
The agency blamed the decline on a decrease in urban single starts and a reduction in rural starts.
The drop was partly offset by multiple starts.
Urban starts increased by 1.9 per cent to 169,300 units in July.
Urban multiple starts increased by 13.4 per cent to 101,400 units, while single urban starts dropped 11.3 per cent to 67,900 units.
July's annual rate of urban starts decreased 14.8 per cent in British Columbia, 2.6 per cent in Ontario, and 0.4 per cent in Quebec.
Urban starts increased 37.7 per cent in the Atlantic Region and 14.4 per cent in the Prairie Region.
Rural starts were estimated at an annual rate of 19,900 units in July.
