Ontario Home Starts Grow in January

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 8, 2012) - The Ontario preliminary Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of home starts across urban* centres moved higher in January. An estimated 77,300** residential housing units got started in the latest month, up from 69,600 units in December. Multi-family home construction, which includes semi detached homes, town homes and apartments was solely responsible for the increase while single detached construction edged lower. The bulk of gains were in the GTA while starts outside the GTA remained relatively unchanged. Ontario construction activity was running well above trend levels in January

"Ontario construction activity continues to be driven largely by the apartment sector. Apartment construction activity remained strong in January thanks to high home prices, lower rental vacancy rates and increasing investor interest. However, uncertainty in global financial markets, slower job growth and more choice in resale markets should temper the pace of construction activity through 2012," said Ted Tsiakopoulos, CMHC's Ontario Regional Economist.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on over 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of high quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable homes. CMHC also provides reliable, impartial and up-to-date housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making informed decisions.

For more information, visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642. CMHC Market Analysis standard reports are also available free for download at CMHC Housing Market Information.

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