November 10, 2009
By Bert Hill, The Ottawa Citizen; with files from Financial Post
Canada is building again.
Led by a big increase in multi-unit projects, construction of new housing rose 5.2 per cent across the country in
October from a month earlier, according to a report by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
The increase could be much larger in Ottawa.
Seasonally adjusted month-over-month figures are not available for the capital, but non-adjusted CMHC data
show local housing starts jumping to 740 last month from 475 in September.
Compared to October 2008, however, home construction was down 16 per cent in Ottawa, largely because of a
decline in new apartments.
For the first 10 months of the year, construction is down 28 per cent.
New housing sales have rebounded in recent months due to low mortgage rates and renewed consumer
confidence. But builders have been cautious because of difficulty in getting financing and other factors.
Work started on only 175 apartment units in Ottawa in October, down 42 per cent, and 222 rowhouse units, a
decline of 16 per cent. But work on new single-family units was stable in the month.
"While all housing types experienced an active construction month, it was the single-detached housing segment
that stood out with 40 per cent of all starts," said CMHC analyst Sandra Pérez Torres.
In Gatineau, housing starts fell 29 per cent to 287 units, led by a decline in multiple units. For the first 10
months, starts are down two per cent to 2,664 units.
Across Canada, new home construction rose by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 157,300 units in October,
up from 149,300 in the previous month, CMHC said.
Economists had expected housing starts to increase by between 155,000 and 158,800 units during the month.
"The improvement in housing starts in October is attributable to improvement in the multiple starts segment,"
Bob Dugan, CMHC's chief economist, said Monday. "Despite a small decline in single home starts in October,
the level of single home starts remains at its second highest level since October 2008."
Urban housing starts rose 5.2 per cent on an adjusted annual basis to 139,900 units last month, with multipleunit
construction up 13.8 per cent to 72,600 units. However, urban single-unit starts fell 2.7 per cent to 67,300
units in October.
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