OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in May climbed 10% compared with April, helped by gains in Montreal and Toronto.

The housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in May amounted to 264,506 units, up from 241,111 in April.

The move came as the annual pace of starts in Montreal more than doubled with an increase of 104% and Toronto gained 47%, both boosted by multi-unit starts. The pace of starts in Vancouver for May fell 32% compared with April.

CMHC says the overall annual pace of urban housing starts was 246,111 units in Canada, up 11% from 221,376 in April. The annual pace of multi-unit urban starts increased 13% to 203,141, while single-detached urban starts rose 2% to 42,970.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of rural starts was estimated at 18,395.

The six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate was up 3.8% at 247,830 units in May compared with 238,859 units in April.

CMHC Says Annual Pace of Housing Starts in May Up 10% from April by The Canadian Press | BIV