A big drop in apartment construction made for a slower February for London-area home builders.
According to statistics released Tuesday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, work began on a total of 96 homes in the London census metropolitan area (which includes London, St. Thomas, Central Elgin, Southwold Township, Strathroy-Caradoc, Thames Centre, Middlesex Centre, and Adelaide-Metcalfe) last month.
That compares to 225 housing starts in February of 2015.
“The trend in total housing starts declined mainly due to a sharp decline in the trend for apartment starts," says .Anthony Passarelli, Senior Market Analyst with CMHC. "An uptick in the trends for starts of singles and rows didn’t offset the decline in the trend for apartments."
Work began on 24 apartment units in February, compared to 174 in February of last year.
If there's a silver lining to the CMHC's report, it's an increase in single-detached home construction. They increased to 72 last month, compared to 51 in February 2015.
"Contrary to the overall trend, the trend in single-detached starts increased for a third consecutive month, reaching its highest level in more than three years," says Passarelli. "Tight resale market conditions have boosted the demand for new single-detached and row housing."
So far this year, work has begun on 208 new homes in the London area, compared to 289 in the same time period in 2015.
