Canadian housing starts rise more than expected in November

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian housing starts rose 8% in November, beating market expectations, driven primarily by multi-unit starts in Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia, data from the national housing agency showed on Monday.

The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts rose to 262,443 units from an upwardly revised 242,207 units in October, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation said.

Economists expected the number to rise to 245,100 units in November.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa, Editing by Louise Heavens)