By Paul VieiraOTTAWA--Canadian housing starts fell sharply in November from the prior month, as high interest rates and a shortage of skilled labor weighed on construction activity. Housing starts across Canada came in at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 212,624 units for November, a 22% decline from the 272,000 starts in October, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Friday. The result missed market expectations by a wide margin, as economists estimated 260,000 housing starts for November, according to economists at TD Securities. CMHC warned that housing starts would remain sluggish in the near term. "The notable drop in the rate of housing starts in November ... should not come as a major surprise and reflects tighter economic conditions impacting construction timelines," said Kevin Hughes, deputy chief economist at the federal housing agency.

Source: Wall Street Journal December 15, 2023 22:27 UTC