Thunder Bay's New Home Construction Season Slow to Start

THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 8, 2011) - Housing starts activity continued slow in March with only one single-detached being recorded according to preliminary data released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Year-to-date single-detached starts now total eight units, down 27 per cent from last year's first quarter total.

"Singles starts in March have averaged only 1.5 units over the last ten years so one unit for the month is not entirely uncommon," observed Warren Philp, Northern Ontario Market Analyst with CMHC. "Similarly, Thunder Bay's eight single-detached units started for the first quarter is only one unit shy of the 9.2 unit 5 year average over the first quarter of the year," summarized Philp.

Cool temperatures and late snowfalls are contributing to the slow start to the building season. Starts of semis, rows and apartment units are also weak with no starts to the end of March compared to two semi-detached starts last year.

To view the graph associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/cmhc0408tbayge.jpg.

Source: CMHC

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable, and affordable homes — homes that will continue to create vibrant and healthy communities and cities across the country.

Aussi disponible en francais.

Our next Housing Starts press release will be April, 2011, coming on May 9, 2011. CMHC's national web-site is located at www.cmhc.ca.