Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in November edged down 0.2 per cent compared with October.

The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in November was 264,159 units, down from 264,581 in October.

The result came as the annual pace of urban starts was flat at 242,644 units as multi-unit urban starts rose two per cent to 190,415, but single-detached urban starts fell seven per cent to 52,229.

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The annual pace of starts in Toronto and Vancouver rose, but Montreal saw a drop.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 21,515.

The six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates of housing starts was 274,361 in November, down from 277,044 in October.