![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/canadian-home-construction-real-estate.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto: James Bombales<\/em><\/p>\n Canadians who are looking to buy homes aren\u2019t the only ones feeling the pinch from mortgage rules the federal government brought in last year.<\/p>\n The rate of homebuilding in the country took a surprising tumble in February, and it\u2019s related to mortgage stress testing, which raises requirements to qualify for a loan, says a leading economist.<\/p>\n\n “Residential construction, which remained firm through much of last year, has shown signs of slowing with the double whammy of tougher mortgage rules and poor affordability in major markets,” writes BMO Chief Economist Douglas Porter in a response to preliminary housing start data<\/a> from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile February was a bad weather month, the more complex adjustments in the housing market have worked to slow residential construction,\u201d Porter continues.<\/p>\n In February, housing starts, which are roughly measured when work begins on a home, contractors broke ground for 10,384, down 29 percent from that month last year. At an annualized rate \u2014 so if this pace continued \u2014 homebuilders would start construction on about 173,200 homes, down 16 percent compared to January\u2019s pace.<\/p>\n