Canadian housing starts dropped back in January

OTTAWA, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Housing starts in Canada eased back from December to January, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Monday.

Housing starts were trending at an annual rate of 191,456 in January, a drop from December's 194,518, the CMHC said.

The trend in housing starts is a six-month rolling average on a seasonally adjusted annual basis.

The stand-alone 12-month annual rate for January, seasonally adjusted, was 180,248, down from the 187,144 mark from December, the national housing agency said.

Housing starts in urban areas declined 2.7 percent in January to 163,158, urban starts that included multiple-unit projects fell 6 percent to 102,289 and single-family housing starts increased by 3.4 percent to 60,869, the CMHC said.