Housing starts slide in December

Housing starts in December were at an annualized rate of 236,106 units in December, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. That was a decrease of 22 percent from 303,813 units in November. The pace of urban starts decreased by 24 percent to 212,918 units, with single-detached urban starts down four percent to 55,231 units. Rural starts were estimated at a rate of 23,188 units.