Housing starts slipped to an annual rate of 186,400 units in September, down less than 3,000 from August's figure, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Friday.

The drop was mainly due to fewer single-family homes being started, the agency said.

“Housing starts moved lower in September due to a decrease in urban single starts in Atlantic Canada and Ontario,” CMHC chief economist Bob Dugan said in a release. “Multiple starts were unchanged.”

The number of multiple starts — apartments and condos — fell by 8.1 per cent to a seasonally-adjusted 63,600 units.

Urban areas in Atlantic Canada and Ontario saw starts drop by double-digit amounts — 23.7 per cent in Atlantic Canada and 10.9 per cent in Ontario — while urban building activity in B.C., Quebec and the Prairies rose modestly.