April may have proven a solid month in other areas of the economy here in Canada, but not in putting housing up.
Data Monday from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation showed Canadian housing starts fell in April after an unexpected surge in March as groundbreaking for both multiple and single units decreased
CMHC's seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of housing starts rose to 214,098 units in April. The figure for March was revised slightly lower to 252,305 units.
The corporation went on to say that, even though the rate of housing starts in Québec was down last month, the total for the first four months was up by about 30% in the province’s urban centres. This result was mainly due to the significant construction of apartments, especially rental units, in the Montréal and Québec areas. As well, single-detached home starts have been strong so far in 2017, thanks in part to tightening resale market conditions.
The trend in housing starts in Toronto remained stable in April, as slight increases in low-rise homes were offset by some declines in apartment starts. Overall, new home construction this year has been building momentum as both new single-detached and townhome starts trended higher to reach a nine-year high in April. Tight conditions in the resale market continue to cause demand to spill over into the new home market.
CMHC concluded that the SAAR of urban starts decreased by 15.3% in April to 199,485 units. Multiple urban starts decreased by 16.7% to 134,314 units in April and single-detached urban starts decreased by 12.1%, to 65,171 units.
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