A spike in apartment construction helped drive home building in April for the London area, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. stated in a release Wednesday.

Last month the number of housing starts in London area was 436, up from 367 in the same month a year ago, due largely to a high number of apartment starts.

Last month, construction began on 348 “multiples,” which include apartments, and in March there were 213 multiple starts.

From January to April there were 712 multiple home starts, compared to 264 over the same period in 2018.

“Apartment starts rebounded in April, causing total housing starts in London CMA to trend up. Single-detached starts activity remained below 2018 levels, as higher prices and borrowing costs have weighed on demand for expensive homes,” said Andrew Scott, an analyst for CMHC.

“A few years of low vacancy rates and rising rents have encouraged greater apartment construction.”

As for single-home starts, work began last month on 88, compared to 154 in March.

As for total home starts, from January to April this year there were 967, compared to 710 over the same time last year.

If the current building trend holds, CMHC forecasts there will be 2,878 units built in the London area this year.