TORONTO (Reuters) – Canadian housing starts excluding the province of Quebec fell 20.4% in May compared with the previous month as groundbreaking decreased on both multiple unit and single-detached urban homes, data from the national housing agency showed on Monday.
The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts excluding Quebec fell to 132,576 units from a revised 166,477 units in April, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said. Economists had expected starts to fall to 155,000.
Including Quebec, starts rose to 193,453 units in May from 166,477 units in April. CMHC left Quebec out of the April survey after construction in the province was disrupted by measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Toby Chopra)
