Housing starts in Canada were trending at 182,756 units in May compared to 182,971 in April,according to Canada Mortage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonly adjusted annual rates(SAAR) of housing starts.

"The trend in total housing starts was essentially unchanged in May as gains in the multiple starts segment partly offset the moderation in activity that was observed in previous months,especially in Atlantic Canada and estimate of household formation," said Mathieu Laberge,Deputy Chief Economist at CMHC.

The standalone monthly SAAR was 200,178 units in May ,an increase from 175,922 in April. The SAAR of urban starts increased by 14.6 percent in May to 177,234 units,led by a 22.2 percent rise in multiple urban starts to 114.346 units.Single urban starts increased by 3.0 percent to 62,888 units in May.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonlly adjusted annual rate of 22,944 units in May.