Canada: Housing starts jumped higher in April - RBC

Josh Nye, senior economist at the Royal Bank of Canada, notes that the Canada’s housing starts jumped to 235,000 annualized units in April, continuing to pick up from a multi-year low of 167,000 in February.

Key Quotes

“The increase was led by multi-unit starts which rose to a record high 176,000 annualized units.”

“Economists (including ourselves) were perhaps a bit shy to pencil in such a strong increase in housing starts in April, though the rapid pace of permit issuance in recent months and potential for weather-delayed starts to show up in the spring means today’s report isn’t a total surprise.”