Housing starts declined 22% in October compared with September’s exceptionally strong activity, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported today.

The month-over-month drop in the seasonally adjusted annual rate to 219,500 from 281,300 “reflects the exceptional strength in new construction in September rather than weakness in October,” said CMHC economist Bob Dugan, in a release.

“Much of the decline in October can be attributed to the fall in multiple starts. We continue to expect that residential construction activity will remain strong throughout next year, with the trend decreasing gradually between now and the end of 2008.”

The actual number of starts last month was 20,738, down 5.4% from 19,682 in October 2006.

Urban starts decreased 24.9% from September to a rate of 183,600 in October, with single-family dwellings down six% and multiple-unit starts down 36%.

All regions saw declines in urban multiple starts, with the biggest decrease in Ontario, down 50.1%.

CMHC said housing starts nationally were up 1.5% in the first 10 months of 2007 compared with the year-ago period, led by 5.4% growth in urban multiple-unit starts.