Canadian housing starts rebound
CBC News
Housing starts were up for January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 222,700 units, compared to 184,700 units in December, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation figures released Friday.
A seasonally adjusted annual rate measures monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels.
“Historically low mortgage rates, solid employment and income growth as well as a high level of consumer confidence continue to underpin the high level of housing starts,” chief economist Bob Dugan said in a news release.
“Housing starts in January returned to a level more consistent with our expectation that housing starts will total 211,700 units in 2008, remaining above the 200,000 mark for the seventh consecutive year.”
Urban starts increased 25.2% to 189,500 units compared to December while rural starts were estimated at 33,200 units in January.
Urban multiples units, which include condominiums and apartments, surged 64.1% to 108,000 units in January, while single-family homes fell 4.8% to 81,500 units.
Housing starts increased in four of Canada’s five regions in January, rising by 43.7% in Ontario, 22.4% in Quebec, 19.4% in the Prairies and 17.5% in British Columbia.
The Atlantic region bucked the trend and registered a decline of 17.4% in January.
Urban multiple unit starts were up in all regions except in the Atlantic, while urban single family homes were down in all regions except Quebec and Ontario.
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