Canadian housing starts increased 0.4% in March to an annual rate of 184,028 units, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Tuesday.

The March rate was up from a revised 183,207 units in February and well ahead of the 176,000 analysts polled by Dow Jones were expecting.

"The trend in total housing starts continued to moderate in March. Builders are adjusting to lower housing demand and as a result, completed and unoccupied units per capita remain relatively close to their historical average," CMHC said in a statement.

In March, urban starts were down 2.7% to 157,217 units. Urban single starts fell 6.6% to 60,558 units, while multiple urban starts were little changed at 96,659 units.

The seasonally adjusted annual rates of urban starts in March fell 15.7% in Ontario and 13.5% in Quebec. Urban starts were up 27.1% in Atlantic Canada, 13.8% in the Prairies and 13.1% in British Columbia.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 26,811 units in March.