OTTAWA - The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 217,800 units in June, down from 227,700 units in May.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reports total housing starts remain high.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts moved down by five per cent in June from May.
Urban multiples dropped three per cent per cent to 114,700 units, while singles fell 7.8 per cent drop to 74,600 units.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts fell in all regions except Ontario, where housing starts increased by 10.8 per cent to 77,900 in June.
Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 28,500 units in June.
For the first half of 2008, actual starts in rural and urban areas combined were up an estimated 1.5 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Year-to-date actual starts in urban areas have increased by about 6.1 per cent over the same period in 2007.
Actual urban single starts for the first six months of this year were 13.1 per cent lower than they were a year earlier, while multiple starts were up by 23.1 per cent over the same period.
