Housing starts drop in November

OTTAWA — The standalone monthly rate of housing starts was 192,235 units in November, a decrease from 198,161 in October, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has reported. The SAAR of urban starts decreased by 3.4% in November to 171,347 units. Multiple urban starts decreased by 3.5% to 111,036 units in November while the single-detached urban starts segment decreased by 3.1% to 60,311 units. In November, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased in British Columbia and the Prairies, were essentially unchanged in Quebec, and decreased in Atlantic Canada and Ontario. In Toronto, the standalone monthly SAAR was 36,741 units in November, down from 47,292 in October, although actual housing starts in November were relatively stable at 3,214 for 2013 compared with 3,298 in November 2012.