Housing starts rose to 252,300 units in March, up from 242,500 units in February, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said today.

Apartment starts surged in several centres in March, while single starts declined for a straight month.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts rose 4.7% to 219,700 units.

Multiple starts rose 18.6% to 123,000 units in March over February, while singles were down 8.9% to 96,700 units.

A jump in multiples construction in Montreal meant the Quebec region led the country with a 21.2% increase in urban housing starts to 48,100 units while each of the Prairie provinces had a second consecutive month of double-digit gains in urban housing starts.

Urban housing starts declined in the Atlantic region and Ontario, while they were virtually unchanged in British Columbia.