Construction crews work at the site of a new housing development in Ottawa's east end in this March 25, 2008, file photo.Sean Kilpatrick for The Globe and Mail
Canada Mortgage and Housing says a drop in new construction of detached single houses in cities pushed the seasonally adjusted rate of housing starts lower in October.
The national housing agency says there were 207,600 housing starts last month, down slightly from 208,800 units in September.
CMHC says multiple-unit housing starts were still high in urban areas, but overall housing starts are expected to remain moderate, in line with demographic fundamentals.
Urban single-house starts were down 9 per cent, while multiple-unit urban starts were up by 1.7 per cent.
Across the country, urban housing starts were down sharply in the Atlantic region and Quebec, up slightly in British Columbia, while Ontario and the Prairie region saw strong increases.