Continuous Upward Trend in Housing Starts
May recorded a better housing start trend than April; 214,621 compared to 213,435, CMHC reported.
“Housing starts trended higher in May in Canada’s urban areas”, said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s Chief Economist. “Row and apartment units led the upward move, while construction has slowed for pricier single- and semi-detached houses.”
The figures show a decline in starts and also expose regional differences, in particular single-detached and row units but the reverse was right in Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo which experienced a growth in single-detached and row houses and all housing types with a higher trend.
Vancouver is still following the right path for 25,000 this year, after they experienced a little overall decline. Kelowna, Abbotsford-Mission and other urban areas all saw a rise while Victoria saw a slight decrease.
While Calgary, Edmonton and Regina are earning their confidence in the midst of builders, Alberta and Saskatchewan display a favorable growth. Saskatoon is still under some pressure even with a 25 per cent decrease, as builders are wary about the high inventory of multi-family units.
The starts of Quebec’s housing are still trending lower same as what they were at the start of the year. A growing vacancy rate for newly-built rental units is fueling this trend.
Hamilton is displaying a strong trend for apartments with starts in this category doubling compared to the same date last year. There is an increase of up to 16 per cent so far in 2017 for single-detached starts.
