Sudbury housing starts remained strong through July with 39 new single-detached units, establishing a ten-year high for that month according to figures released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
The starts were two units ahead of the ten-year average for July and on pace to achieve this year's forecast of 230 units for the Sudbury market.
"The strong month brings the year-to-date for single-detached units to 146, 46 per cent ahead of last year's seven-month total," says Warren Philp, CMHC's market analyst for Northern Ontario in a media release. The 146 single units combined with six multi-family units bring total starts up to152, well ahead of the 100 total starts counted in the first seven months of last year.
Building permits issued were also up, with the City of Greater Sudbury approving 39 single-detached permits, up from 20 last year and about 57 per cent higher than during July 2001. Continued low mortgage rates and improving employment opportunities, Philp says, should enable residential construction activity to continue into the fall.
