The estimate of homes that will be constructed in 2015 has dipped slightly, but analysts say Toronto is still on pace to build more homes this year than last.
The rate of new home construction in the Toronto area was lower in July 2015 than in June, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said in a statement Tuesday.
Each month, the organization releases an updated estimate of the number of homes, condos, and apartments on which construction will be started. Until July, when it dipped by approximately 2,300 units, the monthly estimate had been edging steadily higher since January.
The statement said 36,810 homes, condos and apartments are expected to be under construction by the end of 2015. The adjusted estimate marks the first decrease in five months.
"However, strong sales of pre-construction condominium apartments over the past two years will convert to more starts as the year progresses," CMHC Principal Market Analyst Dana Senagama said in the statement.
Senagama said the organization predicts there will be nearly 6,000 more housing units built in the Toronto area this year, than were built in 2014.
The CMHC estimates that between 80,000 and 87,000 immigrants settle in the Toronto area each year, translating to about 36,000 new households.
With nearly 37,000 housing starts predicted this year, the city’s building sector is on the right track, CMHC Market Analyst Andrew Scott told CTV Toronto.
"This bodes well for first-time homebuyers because, with all the supply, it's going to help keep prices stable, and it's going to offer them more choice," Scott said Tuesday.
