OTTAWA - The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts reached 196,700 units in February, an increase from 185,400 in January 2010.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported today that the gain was concentrated in the multiple starts segment, particularly in Toronto.

In the Kitchener census metropolitan area, housing starts increased on a year-over-year basis for the fifth month in a row.

Builders poured foundations for 168 housing units in February, up from 103 a year ago. They started 92 single-detached homes, up from 45 a year earlier.

“A tight resale home market and low interest rates have encouraged homebuyers to consider the new home market,” Edgard Navarrete, the housing corporation’s market analyst for the Kitchener census metropolitan area, said in a news release.

“Any increase in demand for new homes must be met by new construction, as new home inventories are low,” he added.

Kitchener was the busiest local market in February with 104 starts, more than double the 44 recorded a year ago. There were 31 starts in Waterloo, 24 in Woolwich Township, eight in Cambridge and one in North Dumfries Township.

Nationally, urban starts increased nine per cent to 179,100 units in February.

Urban multiple starts increased by 19.1 per cent to 89,900 units, while single urban starts increased by 0.5 per cent to 89,200 units.

The annual rate of urban starts increased 28.6 per cent in Ontario in February, 14.3 per cent in Atlantic Canada, 10.8 per cent in the Prairies and by eight per cent in British Columbia.

In Quebec, urban starts fell 14.1 per cent.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17,600 units in February.

The Canadian Press with files from Record staff