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Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Single-family housing starts surge

By: Staff Writer

8/12/2009 12:56 PM | Comments: 2

New home construction has surged. (KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVE)

WINNIPEG — A surge in single-family housing starts was overshadowed last month by a dramatic drop-off in the construction of new multi-family units.

There was a 27.9 per cent increase in the number of single-family starts recorded in the Winnipeg Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), according to new Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation figures released today.

But that was more than offset by an 88.1 per cent decline in starts of multi-family units, which include things like condominiums, apartments and townhouses.

The housing agency said there were 174 single-family starts and only 16 multi-family starts recorded during the month. That compared to 136 singles and 16 multiples in November of last year.

The combined total of 190 starts for the month was a 29.9 per cent decline from November 2008’s total of 271 single- and multi-family starts.

The weaker overall number left housing starts running 30.8 per cent behind last year’s pace after the first 11 months of this year — 1,907 compared to 2,757.

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2 Comments

Posted by: Aggie

December 8, 2009 at 10:07 PM

The article reads that we are to believe by the numbers that multi family dwellings are being sacrificed to single family dwellings. In all the numbers given in the article it would have been nice to see how large those 16 projects were in both years. How many families could be housed in those 32 multi-family dwellings? That said, I know that there is a shortage of low income housing in this city and the city isn't doing anything about that. It's all about building for profit. They've moved away from buiding just regular apartments to now condo's or rowhousing. Maybe the city should take a closer look at who is needing housing and if they are lucky enough to get an apartment they should help support that family so that the rent isn't so unbearable.