8 June 2018

According to CMHC chief economist Bob Dugan, despite the last month’s decrease in multi-unit urban starts, it still remains near 10-year average, following several months of historically high levels.

Nathan Janzen, senior economist at RBC Economics, says the drop in the multiple-unit starts wasn’t the same in different regions of Canada.

“Ontario and Quebec showed the largest decreases, while the Prairies and British Columbia reported the strongest gains,” – Janzen noted.

In his opinion, May slowdown represents normal monthly volatility, and not a new downward tendency. The average number of the previous six months is still elevated historically at 216,000 units.