2017 new home construction in London-St. Thomas is up almost 30% over the same period last year, new figures show

  • 07/11/17
  • |          London          |          Ontario

It’s shaping up to be a stellar year for London’s housing industry, with new construction up almost 30 per cent in the first half of 2017.

The London area’s housing construction market was back on track in June after a brief lull in May: The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said there were 229 single detached housing starts in June, up from 175 in the same month last year.

In the multi-family market, including apartment buildings and condos, there were 336 starts, just below the 338 starts in May 2016.

In total there were 565 housing starts in June, up from 516 in June 2016.

The housing market in the London-St. Thomas area has been strong in the first half of the year with the exception of May, when there was a slowdown in the volatile multi-family market.

Total housing starts for the first half of 2017 are tracking 28 per cent above the first half of last year.

There have been 1,948 total housing starts compared to 1,520 in 2016.

This year’s starts include 800 single-family homes compared to 646 last year and 1,148 multi-family compared to 874 in January-June 2016.

The multi-family starts are poised to soar in the next 12-18 months with about a dozen large highrise buildings in the planning stages, although some still face legal and bureaucratic hurdles.

The housing construction market is benefiting from a surging real estate market in the London-St. Thomas area, with sales records shattering six months in a row and total sales up 23 per cent this year.

Across Canada the annualized estimate of housing starts rose to 212,700 annualized units in June, after back-to-back declines in April and May.

Both single-detached and multi-family construction was up, with Ontario and Quebec leading the way.

There were 100,000 housing units under construction in Ontario in the second quarter of 2017, roughly matching the record high set in 1973.

London Housing Starts in June

(May 2016 in brackets)

Single-detached 229 (175)

Multi-family 336 (338)

Total 565 (516)

Year to date

Single-detached 800 (646)

Multi-family 1,148 (874)

Total 1,948 (1,520)

hdaniszewski@postmedia.com

Source:
Share This On: