Tag Archives: Canadian housing starts
Canada April housing starts edge up, condos strong
By Ka Yan Ng – Reuters
Canadian housing starts inched up 1.3% in April, offering further evidence that recovery in the housing sector is a major component of Canada’s economic recovery.
New home construction rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 201,700 units in the month from a revised 199,200 in March, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp figures showed on Monday.
The April number, however, came in below the average forecast of analysts, who had called for 205,000 starts. The March number was revised up from an originally reported 197,300 units.
“This was only the second time that the pace of housing starts has breached the 200 K-units barrier since November 2008,” Millan Mulraine, a senior strategist at TD Securities, said in a note.
The Canadian dollar pulled back slightly after the data was released, but at C$1.0236 to the U.S. dollar, or 97.69 U.S. cents, it was still about 2% higher than Friday’s close, surging on the back of a European rescue deal.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts rose 5.1% to 182,500 units as a big jump in the volatile multidwelling group offset a retreat in single-family homes.
The multidwelling group, which includes high-rise condos, climbed 27.2% to 98,600 units. Starts in the closely watched single-family component dropped 12.7% to 83,900, breaking an 11-month streak of gains.
Market players continue to forecast that home sales will slow in the second half of the year after a spring burst of activity due to higher interest rates, new mortgage rules and the introduction of harmonized sales tax (HST) regimes in Ontario and British Columbia.
“While we are looking for further improvement in home construction across Canada through the spring months, we are more uncertain about the late summer, early fall as demand starts to retrench in the new home market in reaction to the introduction of the HST and higher borrowing costs,” Scotia Capital economists Derek Holt and Karen Cordes Woods said in a commentary.
Housing starts went up in most parts of the country in April, led by British Columbia, up 16.4%. Starts were up 6.7% in the Prairie region, 4.5% in Ontario, and 1.1% in Quebec. Urban starts fell 3.3% in the Atlantic provinces.
Rural starts in April were estimated at an annual rate of 19,200.
————————————————————————————————————–
Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960
————————————————————————————————————–
Related posts:
- Housing starts top 200,000 units Home construction rose 1.3% in April as Canada's real estate...
- Housing starts rise 6.1% in February Home construction rose by a more-than-expected 6.1 per cent to...
- New home construction disappoints in April By Roma Luciw – Globe and Mail Canadian housing starts eased...
- Canada December Housing Starts Rise to 174,500 Units Canadian housing starts increased to the highest level in 14...
- Housing starts hit 2009 high As for single home construction, despite a dip in October,...
Housing pace cools on fewer condo starts
Tavia Grant – Globe and Mail
Canadian housing starts cooled for the first time this year in March as condominium construction eased.
Housing starts fell 1.5% last month to 197,300 units on a seasonally adjusted annual basis as builders broke ground on fewer multiple-unit dwellings, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said.
National starts have been generally rising in recent months as Canada’s real estate market steams ahead. While last month’s reading was little changed, several factors suggest the market remains strong: February’s revised numbers show starts climbed above the 200,000 mark for the first time since October, 2008. And single home construction hit a four-year high in March.
Multi-unit construction, meantime, tends to be volatile, with the March drop following a month-earlier increase.
The pace of housing starts – and broader real estate activity – will likely ease in the second half of this year as mortgage rates rise and new tax regimes and regulations dampen the market, economists said.
“It’s a bit hard to believe starts will hold at this level,” said Pascal Gauthier, economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank.
Canada requires a pace of housing starts of about 175,000 to 185,000 to keep up with demographic demand, economists estimate.
In March, urban multiple starts fell 15.2% while single-family starts grew 6.9%.
The findings echo a report last week, showing building permits eased due to a lull in multiple-unit activity. Building permits fell for the second month in a row in February, sliding 0.5% in the month.
Single starts are now running at a four-year high. “Activity in this sector is now up 126% from the recession low and … has seen 11 consecutive monthly gains since bottoming in April last year,” Bank of Montreal economist Robert Kavcic said.
Starts fell 16.3% in British Columbia, 15.5% in Ontario, and 8% in Atlantic Canada. They rose 13.5% in Quebec and 7.3% in the Prairies.
Rural starts were estimated at 22,100 units in March.
Levels in January and February were revised upward. In January, they rose 7.5% to 189,000, and in February, the new reading shows they rose 6% to 200,400 units.
————————————————————————————————————–
Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960
————————————————————————————————————–
Related posts:
- Canada December Housing Starts Rise to 174,500 Units Canadian housing starts increased to the highest level in 14...
- Housing starts top 200,000 units Home construction rose 1.3% in April as Canada's real estate...
- Housing starts post surprise jump Home construction rose unexpectedly in March, led by Ontario and...
- Housing starts dropoff reinforces cooling trend By John Partridge – Globe and Mail A little more steam...
- New home construction disappoints in April By Roma Luciw – Globe and Mail Canadian housing starts eased...
Canada December Housing Starts Rise to 174,500 Units
By Greg Quinn – Bloomberg
Canadian housing starts increased to the highest level in 14 months in December because of increased single and multiple-family homes, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said.
Starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 174,500 last month compared with 164,800 units in November, the third monthly gain, the Ottawa-based housing agency said today. Economists had forecast a 160,300-unit pace, according to the median of 18 responses in a Bloomberg survey.
Cheaper borrowing costs have sparked growing demand for Canadian homes, helping the country’s economy recover from its first recession in 17 years. The Bank of Canada has pledged to leave its benchmark rate at a record low of 0.25% through June unless the inflation outlook shifts.
“New home construction is going vertical and will be a sharp positive contribution to fourth-quarter real gross domestic product,” Derek Holt, economist at Scotia Capital in Toronto, said in an e-mailed note to clients.
Work on urban single-family homes rose 6.4% to 79,400 units in December, while multiple-dwelling starts rose 6.7% to 77,700 units from 72,800 units in November, the housing agency said.
Building Permits
In a separate report today, Statistics Canada said building permits fell 4.6% in November led by non-residential projects, particularly in Toronto and Calgary, while housing permits continued to grow.
The total value of permits issued by municipalities fell to $5.94 billion ($5.78 billion), Statistics Canada said in Ottawa. Permits for non-residential construction dropped 22% to $2.14 billion, and residential permits rose 9.1% to $3.79 billion, the fourth straight gain.
The decline follows a revised 20% increase in October to a 13-month high, as builders took advantage of the lowest mortgage rates in half a century. Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney has said consumers should be cautious about taking on too much debt, and the bank’s adviser David Wolf is scheduled to give a speech at about 2 p.m. New York time on housing and the recovery.
Stimulus
“No other sector of the economy has been as highly affected by economic stimulus as housing,” said Phil Soper, president of Brookfield Real Estate Services Fund, in a Jan. 7 report.
The Bank of Canada cut its key lending rate to a record low 0.25% in April and Prime Minister Stephen Harper has offered temporary tax credits for home renovations.
Home construction has responded to the stimulus, with permits growing 38% over the 12 months ending in November. Non-residential permits have increased just 3.4% in that time.
Single-family home permits rose for a ninth month, by 2.9% to $2.5 billion, Statistics Canada said. Multiple- family permits rose 23% to $1.3 billion.
In November, permits for industrial projects plunged 58% and institutional permits dropped 26%, while commercial permits rose 3.9%.
By city, permits in Toronto fell 8.9% to $963 million, and dropped 47% in Calgary to $312 million. Vancouver had one of the biggest urban gains, with permits jumping 40% to $484 million.
Economists predicted a 3.3% drop in building permits based on the median of 12 estimates taken by Bloomberg News.
————————————————————————————————————
Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960
————————————————————————————————————
Related posts:
- Housing starts fall, but still deemed strong By Virginia Galt – Globe and Mail The price of new...
- Housing pace cools on fewer condo starts National starts have been generally rising in recent months as...
- Five signs a housing recovery is on the way Economists expect that when CREA reports on the national picture...
- Canada housing market down, but not out Ka Yan Ng – Reuters Canada’s housing market faces a sharp...
- Easy credit, soaring prices raise new housing fears Canadians are in the midst of a mortgage binge,...
