Barrie Bucks National Trend As Hammers Keep Swinging on New Homes
67 per cent increase in July in new single family home starts in Barrie
The national slowdown in housing construction in July has not reached Barrie, where hammers keep swinging. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) say the July lull across Canada comes after a productive record-high June.
The federal Crown corporation says the seasonally adjusted rate of housing starts dropped to 206,314 units in July, from 346,200 in June. The city of Barrie experienced a 67 per cent increase in July in new single family home starts – with 169 new homes started.
Less condo and apartments projects in July
CMHC’s latest report shows condos and apartment starts in urban areas of the country declined by 20.3 per cent from June to 136,231 units in July, while single-detached urban starts decreased by 3.6 per cent month-over-month to 53,862 units. The report says rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16,221 units in July.
Well above historical averages
On the whole, construction crews are still very busy in Canada as CMHC notes the six-month trend for housing starts remained well above historical averages. They says it’s due to elevated levels of multi-unit housing starts in most of our major markets, like Vancouver and Toronto.
Re-Sale home prices are up, sales are down in Barrie
On Wednesday, the Barrie and District Association of Realtors released its sales numbers for July and overall sales slowed but prices continued to climb. The slowdown is typical for the summertime.
“Sales in the month of July, for the City of Barrie, were down slightly when compared with June.”
“This continued upward trend shows a strengthening real estate market,” said Geoff Halford, BDAR 2018 President, in a statement. “Sales in the month of July, for the City of Barrie, were down slightly when compared with June. This is not unexpected as the market tends to
be slower during the summer months. The overall trend in our region sees an increase, with a 29% increase in homes sold in Simcoe County compared to this time last year.”
What’s happening in Toronto
CMHC say activity has remained unchanged in Toronto CMA in July. While there was a decline in single-detached building starts, it was matched by rising apartment starts. High house prices continued to shift buyers from purchasing low-rise units towards relatively more affordable condominium apartments. Consequently, condominium apartment starts were the highest for the month since 2005. The majority of condominium apartment starts took place in the City of Toronto (60%), with the remainder taking place in Mississauga (19%), Vaughan (11%), and Oakville (10%).
