Tag Archives: Multiple-family dwellings
Housing starts climbing again
Dana Flavelle – Toronto Star
Housing starts in the Toronto area bounced back in August, suggesting the market has bottomed out, according to a report by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
Combined with rising national data, the numbers confirm expectations that new residential construction will increase in the second half of the year, Bob Dugan, the national housing agency’s chief economist, said yesterday.
Toronto starts came in at a seasonally adjusted and annualized 23,700 units last month, up 19.7% compared with July.
“After regaining some lost ground last month, it appears that a bottom has formed for housing starts in Toronto,” said Shaun Hildebrand, CMHC’s senior market analyst for the Greater Toronto Area.
Multiple-family dwellings accounted for most of the gains, up 35.1% to 17,700 units.
Comment: Which means new Toronto condos are being built, more and more!
Single detached units fell 10.4% to 6,000.
Seasonally adjusted annual rates reflect the rate at which units would be built if the number of starts in August were multiplied by 12 months.
It’s considered an indicator of future growth rates.
The actual number of starts remains below year-ago levels, at 15,403 units for the 12 months to the end of August, down 44.5% from the year-earlier period.
A start is registered when a concrete foundation is poured.
Ontario was in the middle of the pack, with starts at 42,000 units in August, up 13.8% from July. Again, multiple family units outperformed, rising 28.4% to 24,900 units, while single detached homes declined 2.3% to 17,100.
“It looks like the numbers are bottoming out here and we do expect to see housing starts strengthen in the months ahead,” regional economist Ted Tsiakopoulos said.
He cited a variety of factors.
“Buoyant resale markets in recent months, improving credit and labour market conditions and steadily declining new home inventories were all factors that will boost new home construction activity closer to trend levels in the next few quarters,” Tsiakopoulos said in an interview.
Nationally, housing starts rose 12.4% to 150,400 units.
Urban starts rose by 14% to 131,800 units in August, with multiple starts up 23.8% to 77,600 units and single starts up 2.5% to 54,200 units.
Starts rose the most in British Columbia, up 56%, followed by the Prairies at 16.1%, Ontario at 13.8%, Atlantic Canada at 9.6% and Quebec at 2.5%.
————————————————————————————————————
Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960
————————————————————————————————————
Related posts:
- Housing activity on brink of rebound CMHC says improving activity on the resale market and lower...
- Housing starts to fall slightly in 2008 Housing starts reached 228,343 units in 2007, an increase of...
- Soft landing for new housing starts in 2007 and 2008 Housing starts will moderate this year to 209,500 units after...
- Rebound surprises top builder Housing starts in the Toronto area dropped by a...
- Toronto condos to make up half of new starts New-home starts will remain near historical averages Globe and Mail Multiple...
Homeowners are still cautious about both selling and buying
Helen Morris, National Post
Maybe spring is in the air?
While it’s small, there is, at least one glimmer in a housing report out this week that came in above market expectations. While it nevertheless showed a decline, Statistics Canada reported that new-house prices inched down 0.1% nationwide from November to December last year, but it was a slower decline than expected. But locally, the good news is that prices for Toronto for the same period were constant. Year-over-year, new-home prices in Toronto were up 1.9%, ahead of the national increase of 0.4%.
“While this report was slightly stronger than the market consensus, it is [still] indicative of a cooling housing market,” says Ian Pollick, economics strategist at TD Securities. However, he does say declining housing starts will likely at least result in reduced inventories of unsold homes.
“There is a silver lining here… The lack of supply coupled with falling prices will eventually work together to create a more environment,” he says. And he echoes what many have been saying all along in this downturn: “Compared to the U.S., the Canadian housing market is not nearly in as bad shape.”
The Canadian Real Estate Association, though, said in a forecast this week that the volume of homes sold across the country have further to fall in 2009, but are likely to stabilize next year.
CREA reported MLS home resale activity fell 17.1% last year and it projects a further 16.9% decline to 360,900 units sold this year.
The CREA report expects Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia will lead this decline, taking national sales activity to the lowest level since 2000.
“Increasingly cautious homebuyers and mortgage lenders means that active listings will take longer to sell in 2009 compared to previous years,” says Gregory Klump, CREA chief economist.
CREA also sees a further decline in prices. The report notes that fewer transactions involving more expensive homes, coupled with lower asking prices, are likely to lead to a further decline in the average MLS sale prices. The forecast is predicting an 8% decline in the average home price in 2009, with the greatest decrease in Ontario and the Western provinces.
However, fewer listings, coupled with a recovery in sales activity, is expected to stabilize the housing market by 2010.
“Supply will take time to adjust to lower demand, but sellers unwilling to accept offers below their expectations will remove their home from the market,” says Mr. Klump. “Fewer active listings reduces buyer choice, and in time puts a floor under prices.”
Construction was also reined in in Toronto as annual housing starts showed a fall of 28%, seasonally adjusted, from the December figure to 25,200 in January. The raw data from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. has starts in Toronto off 40.3% in January compared with the same month in 2008.
“Fewer home starts were a product of cooler resale market conditions and a slowing economy. Multiple-family dwellings have accounted for a larger share of total construction in comparison to last January,” says Dana Senagama, the senior market analyst at CMHC. “This trend will continue throughout 2009 as more homebuyers look toward less expensive condominium apartments and town homes.”
Across the country, housing starts fell 10.9% from December last year to January this year. This fifth consecutive decline contributed to a 29.2% year-over-year drop.
“Given the significant headwinds that Canada’s housing market must now contend with, it is difficult to envision a turnaround occurring any sooner than our official forecast of 2010,” says Charmaine Buskas, senior economics strategist at TD Securities. “Consumers are simply unwilling to take the leap into the housing market even if prices continue to slide, as uncertainty remains the dominant force underpinning decisions.”
————————————————————————————————————
Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416-388-1960
Related posts:
- Housing rebound ‘nothing short of amazing’ Sales of existing homes in June were up a seasonally...
- Housing toughest sector on the block Sales of existing homes in June were up a seasonally...
- Cracks appear in the real estate market By Virginia Galt – Globe and Mail The Canadian real estate...
- Canadian housing market not in recovery yet The Canadian market is not at risk of collapsing, as...
- Do record home sales mean the worst is over? According to the Toronto Real Estate Board, home sales in...
Home building stays resilient in Canada
Jamie Sturgeon, Financial Post
Housing construction in September moved unexpectedly higher, to an annualized rate of 217,600 new units, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Wednesday.
“Housing starts remained at a high level in September, with construction activity again staying above the 200,000 unit threshold,” said Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC.
Higher starts of multiple-family dwellings such as condominiums and townhouses were behind the rise in new home construction activity, Mr. Dugan said.
Economists had forecast an annualized rate 205,000 for the month. In general, construction rose 2.8% month-over-month across the country, representing the second rise in a row after a dramatic decline in July, which saw starts fall to 186,500.
By province, British Columbia saw the most activity, with 33,600 new starts. Construction on new homes moved markedly higher in the Prairie provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba as well. Atlantic Canada also witnessed a rise.
In contrast, Ontario, grappling with worsening economic conditions especially across its urban manufacturing centres, saw construction on new homes fall broadly in the month. New starts in the country’s most populous province decreased 6.6% to 80,900, the CMHC said.
Housing construction was higher on multi-family dwellings in all provinces in September with the exception of Ontario, which saw a decrease of 1.9%, the CMHC said.
————————————————————————————————————
Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416-388-1960
Related posts:
- Leap in home building offers hope Construction of new homes has surged by a surprising eight...
- Home building climbs in February Home building has revved back to life after the recession...
- Housing sector defies expectations By Jamie Sturgeon – Canwest News Service Construction on new...
- New home construction disappoints in April By Roma Luciw – Globe and Mail Canadian housing starts eased...
- Canadian home construction surges Housing starts across the country rose more than 12% in...
