Deborah Baic/The Globe and Mail
Canadian housing starts unexpectedly slipped 3.1 per cent in April, largely due to a decrease in construction of multi-unit family dwellings such as condominiums, data Monday showed.
Starts slipped to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 179,000 units from a downwardly revised 184,700 units in March, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said. March starts were revised from 188,800 units.
The number of starts in April was below the median expectations of analysts who had called for 185,000.
Starts in multiple-unit dwellings dropped 5.1 per cent to 96,000 units. Starts on closely watched urban single-family homes were up 3.4 per cent at 64,100 units.
Rural starts were estimated at an annual rate of 18,900 units from 21,500 in March.