But new home construction remains very strong, says CMHC chief economist
Housing starts trended lower last month after an eight-month long upward trend, according to the latest figures from the Canada Mortgage Housing Corp. (CMHC). There were 214,821 units in September 2017, compared to 220,573 units a month before.
“Nevertheless, new home construction remains very strong as the seasonally adjusted number of starts was above 200,000 units for four straight months,” said CMHC chief economist Bob Dugan.
Vancouver saw fewer housing starts, as fewer multi-family home projects got underway. According to CMHC, there was little spare capacity for more projects because of the record number of units already under construction.
“New home construction in the Vancouver CMA is being supported by population growth, a strong local economy, and low financing costs.”
Homebuilders also broke ground on fewer homes in Toronto, as fewer apartment starts spurred a 7% drop in the overall figure from August. Nevertheless, CMHC said the overall pace of new home construction remains stable as strong demand for new homes in the Toronto CMA continues to persist.
On the other hand, Québec posted a strong performance for the third quarter, as it logged 43,736 start, up from the level registered for the previous quarter (40,564 units). “This last result, as were the relatively high totals for the previous quarters, was attributable to the strong momentum observed in the multi-unit housing segment, particularly in the case of rental apartments, for which starts remained significant in the Montréal and Québec areas,” said CMHC. It believes the province will post a gain this year.
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“Nevertheless, new home construction remains very strong as the seasonally adjusted number of starts was above 200,000 units for four straight months,” said CMHC chief economist Bob Dugan.
Vancouver saw fewer housing starts, as fewer multi-family home projects got underway. According to CMHC, there was little spare capacity for more projects because of the record number of units already under construction.
“New home construction in the Vancouver CMA is being supported by population growth, a strong local economy, and low financing costs.”
Homebuilders also broke ground on fewer homes in Toronto, as fewer apartment starts spurred a 7% drop in the overall figure from August. Nevertheless, CMHC said the overall pace of new home construction remains stable as strong demand for new homes in the Toronto CMA continues to persist.
On the other hand, Québec posted a strong performance for the third quarter, as it logged 43,736 start, up from the level registered for the previous quarter (40,564 units). “This last result, as were the relatively high totals for the previous quarters, was attributable to the strong momentum observed in the multi-unit housing segment, particularly in the case of rental apartments, for which starts remained significant in the Montréal and Québec areas,” said CMHC. It believes the province will post a gain this year.
Related stories:
Brokers can expect a busy 2018
Housing starts post slight increase in August
