OTTAWA: Canadian housing starts fell 12.2% in December compared with the previous month, with a reduction in urban starts driven by a 15.1% decline in multiple-unit starts, data from the national housing agency showed on Monday.

The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts fell to 228,279 units from a revised 259,949 units in November, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said. Economists had expected starts to fall to 227,000.

The survey was not conducted in Kelowna, British Columbia, in December due to COVID-19, the CMHC said. It added that the exclusion did not impact the overall trend direction.