Housing starts move higher
November 9, 2009
Tony Wong
BUSINESS REPORTER
Housing starts in Toronto rose for the third consecutive month according to figures released today by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Starts rose by a seasonally adjusted and annualized 13 per cent in October compared to September to 34,200 units according to the federal housing agency.
Much of that had to do with the rebound in multi-unit construction that includes condominiums. A home is considered "started" when the concrete foundations are poured.
"While detached starts have remained stable, condominium construction has improved in the last three months," said Shaun Hildebrand, CMHC's senior market analyst.
Nationally, housing starts rose by 5.4 per cent to 157,300 annualized units, putting Canadian construction at its best level since the end of 2008.
The strongest gains were in provinces that were hard hit by the recession, including Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario. However, despite the improvement, activity is still running below the peak of 2007.
"Canadian residential construction activity has rebounded from the depths of recession seen earlier this year," says BMO Capital Markets economist Robert Kavcic. "While continued demand strength will likely pull starts higher in the coming months, a return to prerecession levels is still a long way off."
thestar.com