Canada's housing starts jump 14% in February

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Housing starts in Canada jumped 14% in February, with the number of units coming in much higher than expectations, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) figures released Friday.

Housing starts stood at 253,468 units in February, significantly up from 223,176 units in January, the CMHC said in a statement.

The market estimate for the figure was around 227,000.

Last May, the country saw housing starts plummet 23% to 202,494 units – the lowest in more than three years.

CMHC Chief Economist Bob Dugan said in a statement that both the total monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate and the trend of housing starts rose in February.

"This was due to growth in actual year-over-year starts, driven by higher multi-unit starts, particularly in Toronto and Vancouver," he said. "As the national housing shortage continues, the focus for developers continues to shift towards multi-unit construction in Canada’s major centres."