Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in July fell 10 per cent compared with June when they posted their strongest showing so far this year.

The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in July came in at 254,966 units compared with 283,498 in June.

The annual pace of urban starts was down 11 per cent in July at 234,857, while the rate of multi-unit urban starts fell 12 per cent to 193,446 and the pace of single-detached urban starts dropped four per cent to 41,411.

CMHC says the annual pace of starts in July in Vancouver fell 23 per cent, while Toronto dropped 29 per cent. Meanwhile, Montreal rose 12 per cent, Calgary gained 33 per cent and Edmonton added 6 per cent.

The annual rate of rural starts was estimated at 20,109 for July.

The six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 242,525 in July, up from 235,819 in June.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2023.