Housing starts down across Okanagan
Posted On:
2008-09-12
Housing starts down across Okanagan
by Castanet Staff - Story: 41667
Sep 11, 2008 / 2:00 pm
Sep 11, 2008 / 2:00 pm
A huge drop in housing starts took place in the Central Okanagan last month.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation shows that in August, housing starts dropped more than two-thirds in Kelowna.
CMHC market analyst, Richard Sam, says only 69 new housing starts were reported in August, as compared to 225 starts reported in August 2007.
“Very little multiple family activity this month kept housing starts below one hundred homes in August. Many multiple family projects that have been in the planning stage since 2007 have already begun construction during the first six months of 2008,” says Sam.
He says an increase in the supply of existing homes on the market, along with a lower consumer confidence, are some of the major factors that have recently decreased demand for new homes on the area.
In other areas of the Interior, housing starts are mainly down.
In Kamloops, August starts dropped to 41 homes, down from last year’s 82. In Vernon, housing starts decreased by 18%.
The only reported increase in the Okanagan was in Penticton, which saw a jump to 21 homes as compared to just six in August of 2007.
A slow down in multiple family construction during the first eight months of 2008 in Penticton has housing starts 22 per cent below 2007’s levels.
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The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation shows that in August, housing starts dropped more than two-thirds in Kelowna.
CMHC market analyst, Richard Sam, says only 69 new housing starts were reported in August, as compared to 225 starts reported in August 2007.
“Very little multiple family activity this month kept housing starts below one hundred homes in August. Many multiple family projects that have been in the planning stage since 2007 have already begun construction during the first six months of 2008,” says Sam.
He says an increase in the supply of existing homes on the market, along with a lower consumer confidence, are some of the major factors that have recently decreased demand for new homes on the area.
In other areas of the Interior, housing starts are mainly down.
In Kamloops, August starts dropped to 41 homes, down from last year’s 82. In Vernon, housing starts decreased by 18%.
The only reported increase in the Okanagan was in Penticton, which saw a jump to 21 homes as compared to just six in August of 2007.
A slow down in multiple family construction during the first eight months of 2008 in Penticton has housing starts 22 per cent below 2007’s levels.