Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in July climbed 16 per cent compared with June.

The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in Canada for July was 279,509 units, up from 241,643 in June.

The increase came as the annual pace of urban starts rose 17 per cent to 261,134 units for the month.

The annual rate of urban starts of multi-unit homes increased 21 per cent to 217,306 in July, while the pace of single-detached urban starts rose two per cent to 43,828 units.

The annual pace of rural starts was estimated at 18,375 units for the month.

CMHC says the six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in Canada was up 3.2 per cent at 255,783 units in July compared with 247,840 in June.