Housing starts hit five year high
Posted Jan 11, 2011 04:01:20 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Housing starts in Waterloo Region reached a five-year high in 2010, according to statistics released today by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Construction began on 195 homes in December, virtually unchanged from the 194 units started in the same month of 2009. But it was in the annual statistics that the region really shone.
“Detached starts increased, semi-detached starts increased, apartment starts increased,” lists Erica McLerie, Senior Market Analyst with CMHC. “But townhome starts declined slightly from last year.”
Overall, construction began on 2,815 homes in 2010, up more than 20 per cent from the 2,298 units started in 2009.
McLerie believes it’s part of an improving economy.
“There was an increase in employment in 2010, especially in the early part of the year,” she notes. “We saw the resale market take off and we had a very low interest rate environment.”
If that low interest rate environment continues, McLerie thinks housing starts in 2011 could keep pace with 2010. But in light of last year’s 20% jump, CMHC is forecasting a slight dip in housing starts for 2011.
