(Ottawa) The annual pace of September housing starts increased 8% compared to August, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said Wednesday.

The annualized and seasonally adjusted number of housing starts in September amounted to 270,466 units, compared to 250,383 units in August, the federal agency said.

The increase came as annualized housing starts in urban centers rose 9% to 250,766 in September.

The annualized number of multiple housing starts in urban centers increased 10% to 207,689, while the number of single-family starts in the same centers increased 3% to 43,077 units in September.

The annualized number of rural housing starts was estimated at 19,700 units.

The six-month rolling average of annualized, seasonally adjusted housing starts in September was 254,006 units, up 3.9% from August’s 244,511 units.