Housing starts rose marginally in June, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) reported today.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 236,500 units in July, up from June by 100 units.

“The strong results achieved this past month were attributable to the performance of the multiple starts registered in Ontario and British Columbia, which countered the results in other provinces of the country. Single detached starts continued to trend lower and reached their lowest level of the year in July,” said Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre.

“Strong multiple starts reflect a growing interest in relatively less expensive dwellings. Nevertheless, rising prices and slightly higher mortgage rates are expected to soften the demand for new homes in the second half of 2006.”

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts inched up 0.5% to 202,100 units in July compared to June. Urban multiples increased 3.9% to 112,900 units in July, while singles were down 3.5% to 89,200 units.

Urban housing starts went up in two out of five regions in July compared to June. British Columbia took the lead with a 21.9% jump in urban starts followed by Ontario which recorded an increase of 4.2%. In the Atlantic region, the Prairie region, and Quebec, urban starts were down 2.2%, 9.4%, and 10.5%, respectively.

Rural starts in July were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 34,400 units.

For the first seven months of 2006, all areas’ actual starts were up 3.1% compared to a year ago, which compares to 2.6% growth in actual urban starts over the same period. Year-to-date actual urban multiple starts were up 4.3% and urban singles were up 0.9% compared to the same period in 2005.