THUNDER BAY — On the heels of an all-time record low number of single-detached housing starts in Thunder Bay, 2021 looks more promising.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation doesn't provide a construction forecast for the Thunder Bay market.
However, CHMC reported Monday that local builders began work on eight new homes in April, compared with no starts in April last year after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared.
The Thunder Bay area also saw a start on other types of housing comprised of a total of four units, compared with no starts of this type in April 2020.
In all of last year, builders in the Thunder Bay metropolitan area started work on only 94 single-detached units, the fewest in decades.
Over the previous three decades, the most productive year was 1990 when builders began work on 412 homes.
Local single-detached housing starts generally began hovering below 200 units annually after 1994.
However, over the last decade the figure has trended downward even more.
Single-detached housing starts in the Thunder Bay metro area
2010 - 204
2011 - 188
2012 - 227
2013 - 193
2014 - 168
2015 - 164
2016 - 139
2017 - 120
2018 - 122
2019 - 99
2020 - 94
Source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
Across Canada, developers are being challenged this year by rising costs – including for lumber – and delays in obtaining some construction materials.