CORRECTED-WRAPUP 2-Canada May housing starts dip as British Columbia slows

(Removes reference to two biggest cities in fifth paragraph)
By Leah Schnurr
OTTAWA, June 8 (Reuters) - Canadian housing starts dipped
last month as groundbreaking slowed in British Columbia, data
released on Wednesday showed, which could ease concern that the
western province's property market is overheating.
Even with the small decline, national housing starts
remained solid at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of
188,570 units in May from 191,388 in April, the report from the
Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp said.
May's figure was slightly short of economists' expectations
for 190,000 units.
The decline was led by fewer multiple starts in urban areas,
including Toronto, CMHC's Chief Economist Bob Dugan said.
Groundbreaking also declined in Vancouver. The two cities
have seen housing activity accelerate even as other areas have
slowed due to an oil price shock, raising worries that Toronto
and Vancouver could be in for a correction.
The slowdown in both cities in May were due to a decrease in
construction of multiple units, which include condominiums, a
particular source of concern for those worried about a housing
price bubble.
Following recent calls for policymakers to do more to
contain the housing market, Finance Minister Bill Morenau told
an economic conference in Toronto on Wednesday that the
government was "looking at all evidence" as it considers whether
it needs to act again to tighten mortgage regulations.
The Liberal government raised the minimum down payment on
more expensive homes last year, shortly after it was elected.

Starts in urban centers in British Columbia declined to
35,312 units, while they edged up slightly to 64,918 units in
Ontario as a whole, despite the dip in Toronto, the provincial
capital. The damping effect of cheaper oil continued to be felt
in the commodity-sensitive prairie provinces, with starts
declining.
"The key themes in Canadian residential construction remain
tucked well below the national surface," Robert Kavcic, senior
economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a note.
"That includes regional shifts in the wake of the oil price
shock, and ongoing densification in Toronto and Vancouver."
Kavcic said May's figure puts the five-month average for
2016 at just under a 195,000 annualized pace, roughly in line
with household formation.
Separate data from Statistics Canada showed the value of
building permits issued in April fell for the second month in a
row on lower construction intentions in Ontario.
Building permits were down 0.3 percent, missing forecasts
for a 1.5 percent gain after March's 6.3 percent decline. April
marked the first time since February 2015 that permits had
dropped for two consecutive months.