Housing starts were ~40K ahead of estimates in April, rising to 279K on a pickup in multi-unit activity…

… but down small versus last year, with a >2,000 unit decline in Alberta offsetting gains in Ontario and Quebec.

Unabsorbed inventory reached a new high on the back of a multi-unit build, and with the time it takes to move those units inching higher…

… construction activity is likely to remain subdued in the near-term.