Thunder Bay Total Starts Leap Ahead

THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 11, 2011) - The commencement of a large apartment project bolstered housing starts in September in Thunder Bay CMA according to preliminary data released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The September total of 163 starts was the highest monthly figure locally since July 1991. The month also marked the end of an active quarter where single-detached housing starts surpassed the five year average for this type of housing.

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"The apartment unit starts in September will help alleviate some of the pressure being experienced in the rental market as vacancy rates trend down," observed Warren Philp, Northern Ontario Market Analyst with CMHC. "The 25 single-detached units bring the year-to-date total to 140 units, still 16 units behind last year's mark," explained Philp.

The addition of the 132 apartment units raises the year-to-date total to 182 semi, row and apartment starts, up from 14 for the same period last year. Similarly, total starts have nearly doubled reaching 322 units, up from 170 units to the end of September last year.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on 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.

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Our next Housing Starts press release will be October, 2011, coming on November 8, 2011. CMHC's national web-site is located at www.cmhc.ca