Housing starts stagnant in Ontario during March

TORONTO - Ontario home starts were flat during March and remained below trend for a second consecutive month.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says urban starts reached 50,800 units last month; only 100 more starts than registered in February.

The rate of single home construction inched higher by 2.5 per cent in March, but semi-detached homes, townhomes and apartment units posted a combined decline of 2.7 per cent.

CMHC says while Ontario starts for the year are 23 per cent lower compared to 2006, the year-end figure is expected to remain above historical averages.

In Toronto, there were 27,200 starts in March compared to 22,800 in the previous month.

But for the first three months of the year in Toronto, housing starts have declined by about 23 per cent compared to the same period a year ago. The greatest decline was in the multiple-family section of the market.