THUNDER BAY – Business – Housing starts in Northern Ontario were trending upward slightly according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. In Thunder Bay there was a noted gain in new starts. In Sudbury, there was another slight gain. 

However for the entire province, housing starts are flat. “Ontario residential construction activity slowed in March due to declining row and apartment starts. More choice in the resale market and a high volume of units under construction restrained residential starts since the spring of 2012. Starts should move higher in subsequent months given below trend readings in March and due to rising home completions which should free up some labour to commence construction on a backlog of apartment structures,” said Ted Tsiakopoulos, CMHC’s Ontario Regional Economist.

Ontario Housing Stats Flat

Housing starts in Thunder Bay, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 483 units in March, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). 

“Home building picked up in March after experiencing from traditionally subdued levels in February. Housing construction in 2013 is expected to be on par with 2012 with a balance of single-detached and multi-family housing starts,” said Warren Philp, CMHC’s Market Analyst for Thunder Bay.

Housing starts in the Greater Sudbury, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 495 units in March.

“Home building picked up in March after slower activity in February. Home building is expected to gain momentum in coming months. However, housing construction in 2013 is expected to be similar to or lower than last year,” said Jawad Ahmad, CMHC’s Market Analyst for Sudbury.

CMHC uses the trend measure as a complement to the monthly SAAR of housing starts to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and obtain a more complete picture of the state of the housing market. In some situations, analysing only SAAR data can be misleading in some markets, as they are largely driven by the multiples segment of the markets which can be quite variable from one month to the next. The multiples segment includes apartments, rows and semi-detached homes.

The standalone monthly SAAR was 393 units in March, up from nine in February.