The consensus call is for a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 225,000 in April, down from the revised 243,000 a month earlier (previously reported as 254,700).

Economists say they expect to see the downward trend continue through the rest of the year.

Earlier this week, Statistics Canada released a report showing that the total value of residential building permits across the country fell 5.7% in March to $3.6 billion, with permits for multi-family homes down 7.8% in value and single family homes down 4.4%.

Scotiabank economist Derek Holt says he expects the April housing starts figure to fall to 220,000 and for the industry as a whole to continue to decline through the second half of 2008 and for as long as three or four years into the future.

"Housing will stop being a driver of economic growth in Canada within the next few months," said Holt, as new construction slows and prices stabilize. However, he said there is little chance of the industry going through the kind of turmoil seen in the U.S. in the past year.

CIBC economist Meny Grauman predicted 230,000 annual starts as of April. "I think what we are seeing is a slow deceleration in the Canadian housing market after quite a long, strong run," said Grauman. "We expect the slowdown to pick up steam towards the end of the year."

Affordability "has definitely become an issue," he said, adding that there will probably be a softening in price increases over the next year or two.

HSBC Canada market strategist Stewart Hall said his forecast is for 233,000 housing starts in the April figures as the market continues to make up for a very tough December, when the annualized rate of starts plunged to 184,700. "The weather was a nightmare in December," said Hall, "and it put construction to bed for a while."

Hall said higher housing prices have caused a shift in the marketplace, with all the momentum now in the multi-family sector. Even though the value of residential building permits dropped in March, he said, the number of multi-family units increased. "People are being priced out of the single family market," he said.

By Geoff Matthews, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , edited by Cristina Markham, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it