OTTAWA — The federal housing agency says the number of new home construction projects dipped slightly last month.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in all areas of the country fell to 183,989 units in November, down four per cent from 192,297 units in October.

In urban areas of Ontario, the seasonally adjusted rate of starts declined to 55,232 units, down 32 per cent from the previous month.

That’s in contrast to urban areas of B.C., which saw an increase of 73 per cent to 44,019 units.

RBC economist Josh Nye says he anticipates the decline in home construction will continue next year, with starts falling by about 10 per cent as recent mortgage rule tightening by Ottawa causes existing home sales to fall.