Canadian home building beats forecasts

Home construction in Canada rose by a better-than-expected 2.7 per cent in May, led by the multiple-unit sector, as the housing market showed some signs of stabilizing.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Wednesday the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts rose to 183,600 units during the month, from 178,700 units in April.

“Housing starts increased modestly in May due to an increase in multiple construction in most provinces and in rural starts,” said CMHC chief economist Bob Dugan. “The increase in multiples and rural starts was partly off-set by a decrease in single starts.”

Economists had expected overall starts of between 182,000 and 183,000 in May.

Source: FinancialPost.com