Friday, August 7, 2009

Have Housing Starts in Canada Hit Bottom?

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reported recently that national housing starts increased by 9.2% in May compared to April. This leads some economists to think that a bottom might be forming in the country's homebuilding activity.

March saw a jump in overall nationals housing starts, that jump was largely due to condo development in Ontario, the Prairies, the Atlantic provinces and Quebec. The only region to see a decrease was B. C. where the market is still moderating. It is believed that housing starts will bottom out slightly below 120,000 before stabilizing throughout next year.

This is a good indication that homebuilding activity will cease being a drag on economic growth and employment heading into next year, however this being the case, housing starts are not expected to head back to previous levels of 150,000 before 2011.

Warmly,
Mary Wozny

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