OTTAWA - Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., says housing starts rose to an annual rate of 157,300 in October, up from 149,300 in September.
The agency says the increase was due to an improvement in the multiple-residence sector that includes condos and apartment buildings.
The number of single-family starts slipped slightly, but was at the second-highest level in a year.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 5.2 per cent to 139,900 units in October, with urban multiple starts up 13.8 per cent.
Urban single starts declined by 2.7 per cent to 67,300 units.
Urban starts increased by 15 per cent in British Columbia, by 14.8 per cent in Ontario, by 6.5 per cent in the Prairies and by 1.2 per cent in the Atlantic.
The rate of urban starts decreased by 11.6 per cent in Quebec.
Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17,400 units in October.