Lumber: Cdn Housing shortage being funded by the Cdn Gov.
Canada's housing agency says the annual pace of housing starts in June posted its largest month-over-month increase in a decade to slightly reverse a downward trend seen this year.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in Canada totalled 281,373 units in June, up from 200,018 in May as there was a spike in activity in the more volatile multiunit category. The rate of multiunit urban starts rose 59 per cent to 219,914, while the rate of starts for single, detached urban homes increased 3 per cent to 42,901. Toronto and Vancouver led the way in construction, making up 47 per cent of total starts, as their actual year-to-date starts were 32 per cent and 49 per cent higher respectively than the same period last year.
The CMHC has said that Canada needs significantly increase supply to tackle the housing crisis. TD Bank economist Marc Ercolao said that the while the June jump was impressive, the six-month moving average continued to fall slightly. "One month is not enough to turn around the long-running downward trend in the sector," he said in a note. |
