Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) announced the country’s housing starts continued to increase last month.

CMHC uses a trend measure to complement the monthly seasonally adjusted rates (SAAR) of housing starts to account for big swings in monthly estimates and to collect a better picture of the Canadian housing market as a whole. The trend measure for November was 208,401 units, compared to 206,125 the previous month.

“The trend in housing starts increased for a seventh consecutive month due to the multi-unit segment,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist. “Rising single-home prices continue to support demand for multiples, which are poised to reach the largest proportion of total urban starts since 1971. However, inventory management is necessary to make sure that these units do not remain unsold upon completion.”

The standalone monthly SAAR for November was 211,916, which is up from 197,712 in October. SAAR of urban starts increased by 7.7 per cent to 195,121 units, while multi-unit urban starts rose by 13.2 per cent to 137,898. Single detached urban starts decreased by 3.6 per cent to 57,223 this month, with rural starts estimated at a SAAR of 16,795 units.

Housing reports can be downloaded and viewed here.