According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the trend measure of housing starts in Canada fell to 203,502 units in December from 208,204 in November. The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

“A decrease in both the multiple and single starts segments drove the December trend lower,” said Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC, in a press release. “Starts increased in 2015 compared to 2014, largely driven by the condominium market in Toronto. Had the Toronto condominium starts remained stable in 2015, national starts would have declined on a year-over-year basis.”

The standalone monthly SAAR was 172,965 units in December, a decrease from November’s 212,028 units. The SAAR of urban starts fell by 19.1 per cent in December to 159,007 units. Meanwhile, multiple urban starts decreased by 27 per cent in December to 101,264 and single detached urban starts remained level at 57,743 units.

In December, the SAAR of urban starts fell in the Prairies, Ontario and Atlantic Canada, while it increased in British Columbia and Quebec.

Rural starts were estimated at a SAAR of 13,958 units.