July housing starts down

The housing starts in Thunder Bay have been hot this year, but did cool off slightly in July.

Construction of single-detached homes saw a significant drop, down more than 24 per cent when compared to last year – 28 units started compared to 37 in July 2009.

July also saw construction begin on four new townhouses.

Although July saw less activity in 2010 than it did in 2009, the Thunder Bay area has still had a healthy year for housing starts. The year-to-date data shows that the total number of starts still remains up by about 10 per cent over last year with 109 units started. In 2009 there had only been 99 starts as of July.

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation market analyst Warren Philp said the July drop wasn’t exclusive to Thunder Bay and was witnessed in most areas across the country.

He added that a stronger resale market may have led to the drop in construction.

Philp said Thunder Bay still remains on target to reach around 175 total housing starts this year.