Housing starts slow to annual pace of 192,000 units in October

The rate of new home construction slowed down last month, to an annual pace of 192,928 units.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said the pace of construction fell from 219,363 units in September.

Much of the decline was linked to a slowdown in the construction of urban multi-unit starts, which include condominiums. They declined by 15.3 per cent to 115,402 units for the month.

B.C. led the way, where starts fell to 27,000 new units. That's well off the pace of earlier this year when as many as 50,000 new units were under construction.

"October's tally brings activity back down to the very stable (and fundamentally supported) range seen between 2010 and mid-2015, before activity broke out to the upside\," BMO economist RObert Kavcic said in a note. "We'll see if this level of activity, particularly in Vancouver where starts fell to the lowest since 2011, holds in the months ahead in response to softening demand conditions."

CMHC says the annual pace of urban starts fell in British Columbia, Quebec, the Prairies, and in Atlantic Canada, but increased in Ontario, where they rose to more than 84,000 units.

"Residential construction activity remains a highly regional story in Canada," Kavcic said. "The new development in October was the falloff in Vancouver, which could be the first sign that builders are responding to much softer demand in that region."