The pace of new home construction across the country slipped in May, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported Tuesday, but the level of activity remains at historic highs.

The Crown corporation reported that construction began on a seasonally adjusted 238,800 residential units last month, down 1.2 per cent from 241,600 in April.

Despite the decline, the number is still well above the 200,000 level considered indicative of a healthy market.

Looking at the year to date, housing starts remain stronger than in any five-month period in the past 17 years, CMHC said.

"Housing construction is off to a strong start this year," CMHC chief economist Bob Dugan said in the report.

"January to May had the most starts for any such period since 1987."

The usual suspects continue to drive the market—stronger employment picture, unflagging consumer confidence and low mortgage rates, as well as the expectation that mortgage rates will rise by fall as the central bank hikes its key rate.

Excluding rural areas, urban fell by 1.3 per cent in May from April on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Urban starts for cheaper multiple-type units such as condominium apartments and rowhousing fell by 6.2 per cent. Starts for more costly single-family homes rose by , but 3.8 per cent.

Increases were reported in all regions with the exception of British Columbia.

The solid housing starts report comes a day after Statistics Canada reported that residential building permits issued in April hit record highs on strong demand for both single and multiple-type units.

Housing starts are a lagging indicator of housing demand, while building permits are a leading indicator that reveal builders' future intentions.

Building permits for multiples jumped by 15.5 per cent in April, to $1.1 billion, the first time the monthly total for this sector of the market has passed $1 billion. The multiples total was also 13.4-per-cent higher than the previous record set in January.

Driving the increase was a number of big apartment and condominium projects in the Toronto area.

The more expensive singles market, on the other hand, held steady at about $2 billion, still "a very high level", Statscan said Monday.