According to the results of the latest monthly survey conducted by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), residential construction decreased this past month in Quebec’s centres with 10,000 or more inhabitants. In all, 2,822 dwellings were started in August 2010, compared to 3,565 a year earlier. “The decline in starts registered in August was not at all surprising given the slowdown observed on the resale market. We were expecting residential construction to ease during the second half of the year,” said Kevin Hughes, Senior Economist at CMHC. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of starts for August (38,200) was in fact lower than for the month of July (46,400).
Single-detached home starts fell by 21 per cent in August from the same month in 2009. With the exception of the Sherbrooke area (+21 per cent), all census metropolitan areas (CMAs) in the province sustained decreases. Based on the survey results, the Gatineau (-57 per cent), Saguenay (-42 per cent) and Trois-Rivières (-16 per cent) areas registered the largest declines. “While the construction of multi-unit housing—particularly condominiums—is beginning to decline, single-detached home building has been on a downward trend since the spring,” added Kevin Hughes.
Multiple-unit housing construction registered a decrease identical to the drop recorded by single-detached homes, as starts in that segment went down from 2,577 units to 2,046 year-over-year (-21 per cent). This result was due to the declines noted in the rental and condominium housing categories. Semi-detached and row freehold home starts, on the other hand, posted a gain of 18 per cent over the same month last year, as they reached 649 units.
Just like the province, the large census agglomerations (CAs) sustained a decrease in residential construction. However, the drop in their case was attributable to the multipleunit housing segment, where starts fell by 39 per cent.
For the first eight months of the year, starts in Quebec’s centres with 10,000 or more inhabitants were up by 23 per cent, compared to the same period last year. This result reflected the increases in multi-unit housing construction (+28 per cent) and, to a lesser extent, in single-detached home building (+15 per cent).
Single-detached home starts fell by 21 per cent in August from the same month in 2009. With the exception of the Sherbrooke area (+21 per cent), all census metropolitan areas (CMAs) in the province sustained decreases. Based on the survey results, the Gatineau (-57 per cent), Saguenay (-42 per cent) and Trois-Rivières (-16 per cent) areas registered the largest declines. “While the construction of multi-unit housing—particularly condominiums—is beginning to decline, single-detached home building has been on a downward trend since the spring,” added Kevin Hughes.
Multiple-unit housing construction registered a decrease identical to the drop recorded by single-detached homes, as starts in that segment went down from 2,577 units to 2,046 year-over-year (-21 per cent). This result was due to the declines noted in the rental and condominium housing categories. Semi-detached and row freehold home starts, on the other hand, posted a gain of 18 per cent over the same month last year, as they reached 649 units.
Just like the province, the large census agglomerations (CAs) sustained a decrease in residential construction. However, the drop in their case was attributable to the multipleunit housing segment, where starts fell by 39 per cent.
For the first eight months of the year, starts in Quebec’s centres with 10,000 or more inhabitants were up by 23 per cent, compared to the same period last year. This result reflected the increases in multi-unit housing construction (+28 per cent) and, to a lesser extent, in single-detached home building (+15 per cent).