Housing starts for May decline slightly in St. John's

The number of new home construction starts in St. John's declined slightly last month, compared to both the month and year before.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) says numbers weretrending at 749 for May.

That's down just a bit comparted to April, when that number was 771.

In 2015, the number for housing starts were slightly higher, CMHCsaid, adding that decline is understandable given Newfoundland and Labrador'sfinancial situation.

"In the absence of economic growth and increased uncertainty around the province's fiscal situation, single-detached new home construction activity is only slightly ahead of last year's tepid pace," said CMHC in a release.

The standalone monthly seasonally adjusted annual ratewas 939 units in May compared to 626 in April.

The CMHC said that rate can be misleading in some markets, since those numbers are largely driven by market factors that vary from one month to the next.