Urban starts fell 16.3 per cent in April compared with March, according to the CMHC. (Patti Edgar/CBC)

Housing starts in April dropped at a seasonally adjusted annual rate to 213,900 units from 243,000 a month earlier, owing to a decline in new construction on condos and apartments, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said Thursday.

"Housing starts in April moderated from the high levels posted in February and March," said CMHC chief economist Bob Dugan in a release.

"Most of the decrease reflected a drop in multiple starts, which in March and February had reached their second- and third-highest levels since March of 1978, respectively,"

Seasonally adjusted urban starts fell 16.3 per cent in April compared with March to 185,400 units, the federal agency said. Seasonally adjusted rural starts registered 28,500 units in April, an increase from 21,400 in March.

Urban multiples dropped from 141,000 in March to 113,900 in April while singles declined 11.3 per cent to 71,500 units.

British Columbia was the sole region to record an uptick in urban starts, increasing 17.1 per cent to 34,900 units in April. By comparison, seasonally adjusted urban starts dropped 7,500 units in Atlantic Canada, 37,600 units in Quebec, 73,000 units in Ontario and 32,400 units in the Prairies. Quebec was the only region to register an increase in single urban starts, increasing 9.3 per cent to 12,900 units.