Canada Mortgage and Housing says total housing starts rose in May in Saskatoon despite a slowdown in single-detached starts. It was countered by a much faster pace of multi-family construction. CMHC says the sharp gain there is largely attributed to a purpose-built rental apartment project that got under way in May. After the first five months of the year, multi-family starts in Saskatoon were up by 63 per cent, compared to the same period last year.