A drop in multiple-unit home construction led to a slowdown for builders in the London area last month.
Figures released Tuesday by the Canada Mortage and Housing Corporation show work began on a total of 128 new homes in November in the London Census Metropolitan Area, which includes London, St. Thomas, Central Elgin, Southwold Township, Strathroy-Caradoc, Thames Centre, Middlesex Centre, and Adelaide-Metcalfe.
In November of 2014, work started on 222 new homes.
The CMHC says, of the 128 housing starts, 96 were single detached homes and 32 were multiple unit dwellings. That compares to 87 single detached homes and 135 multiple unit dwellings in November of last year.
“The housing starts trend retreated in November to a level that was a more reflective of housing demand in London," says Anthony Passarelli, Senior Market Analyst with CMHC. "The trend had been elevated for the past several months, pulled up by a high number of row and apartment starts. As is typically the case with row and apartment starts in London, due to their volatile nature, large swings in starts will sometimes occur."
So far this year, work has begun on 2,004 new homes in the London CMA. At this time last year, that figure was 1,910.
