According to a report from the Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian housing starts increased by 0.6 per cent in June 2014, to 198,200 annualized units, up from 197,000 units in May. Market experts originally anticipated a total of 190,000 annualized starts for the month.

The most significant growth was seen in the Prairies, where starts rose by 37.4 per cent. In Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, however, multi-unit construction declined by 16.0, 13.3, and 5.0 per cent, respectively.

RBC attributes the overall rise in housing starts to the recent outperformance of building permits across the country and consistently lean mortgage rates. However, homebuilding activity is expected to ease in the second half of the year and into 2015, ultimately becoming more in line with forecasts.

The RBC’s full-year forecast predicts that overall Canadian housing starts will fall slightly from the 188,000 units recorded in 2013, to 182,000 units.