Winnipeg Free Press > Business > Housing starts last month surge past January 2011 numbers

Business

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Housing starts last month surge past January 2011 numbers

By: by Murray McNeill

Posted: 02/8/2012 9:48 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Single-family and multi-family housing starts in January 2012 were nearly triple the number of those in January 2011.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Enlarge Image

Single-family and multi-family housing starts in January 2012 were nearly triple the number of those in January 2011.

WINNIPEG — Local homebuilders roared out of the starting gate in 2012, banging out nearly three times as many housing starts in January as in the first month of 2011.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said today there were 348 single- and multi-family starts recorded last month in the Winnipeg Census Metropolitan Area, which includes Winnipeg and 10 neighbouring municipalities.

Census 2011

That was nearly triple the 122 recorded in January of last year, with both sides of the new-homes market contributing to the surge. CMHC said single-family starts jumped by 18.3 per cent to 136 units from 115 a year earlier, while the number of multi-family starts soared to 212 units from a mere seven.

"This represents the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year increases (in single-family starts)," said Dianne Himbeault, CMHC’s senior market analyst for Manitoba. "The favourable weather has allowed single-detached builders to maintain their momentum into 2012."

Himbeault said multi-family housing is also maintaining its momentum in the new year, with demand coming from Winnipeggers looking for rental housing and first-time buyers and empty-nesters looking for condominiums.

Nationally, it was a much different picture last month, with the pace of Canadian housing starts slowing slightly, mainly because of sharp decreases in Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

CMHC said the seasonally adjusted annual start rate of starts for Canada was 197,900 units, down from 199,900 units in December.

The seasonally adjusted figure attempts to smooth out monthly variations and calculates an annual total as if the January rate continued for 12 months. The actual number of units begun in January was 12,950.

— with files by Canadian Press

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca

(You must be logged in to post your reaction)

Your reaction?

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

letters

Make text: Larger | Smaller

Poll

The province has proposed new rules governing public-private partnerships. Mayor Sam Katz suggested they’re insane. What do you think of P3s?

View Results

View Related Story

Proudly brought to you by:

The Dilawri Group

Ads by Google