OTTAWA, ON -- Housing starts in Canada, driven by activity in Ontario, continued their march on 200,000 units as they increased by a seaonably adjusted rate of 1.7% in June to 197,400 units, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

This is up from a revised 194,100 units in May 2011. April 2011 has also been revised to 194,100 units.

“Housing starts increased in June due to an increase in single and multiple starts in Ontario,” said Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre.

June’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 24.1% in Ontario, and by 5.6% in the Atlantic region. British Columbia posted a decrease of 27.6% over the same period, while urban starts decreased 3.6% in Québec, and by 1.2% in the Prairie region.

Posted by Rich Christianson