Figures released Tuesday morning show that Canadian housing starts jumped in February from January as hot Ontario and British Columbia markets outpaced the energy-producing West, where a crude slump has hit confidence.
A report from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp showed the seasonally-adjusted annualized rate of housing starts rose to 212,594 units in February from a downwardly revised 165,071 units in January. Forecasters had expected 180,000 starts.
CMHC also said that demand for condominiums is soaring in big cities like Toronto and Vancouver, prompting some analysts to worry about a potential bubble. At the same time, crude-producing provinces like Alberta are in a slump.
Separately, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday that the value of building permits issued in January in this country dropped by 9.8% from December, the second sharp retreat in three months.
The fall exceeded the 2.5% decline forecast by analysts.
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