Housing starts down in October

OTTAWA — The standalone monthly SAAR was 198,065 units in October, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., down from 231,304 units in September. The SAAR of urban starts decreased by 16% in October to 181,442 units. Multi-unit urban starts decreased by 22.4% to 122,187 units in October and the single-detached urban starts segment increased by 1.3% to 59,255 units. In October, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts decreased in Ontario, Quebec, the Prairies, and Atlantic Canada, but increased in British Columbia. Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16,623 units.