The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) reported the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 207,968 units in January 2019, down from an upwardly revised 213,630 units in December 2018 (originally 213,419). 

Economists had forecast an annual pace of 205,000 for January. 

According to the report, urban starts decreased 2.1 percent m-o-m last month to 190,912, as single-detached urban starts fell by 10.4 percent m-o-m, to 44,559 units, while multiple urban starts rose by only 0.7 percent m-o-m to 146,353 units. At the same time, rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17,056 units (-8.2 percent m-o-m).