New housing starts down in Saskatoon for June

SASKATOON – New housing starts in Saskatoon are down for the month of June.

Preliminary data released from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation says there were 268 total housing starts for the month compared to 454 for June 2012.

Overall, housing starts for the year are also down, with 1,094 so far this year compared to 1,555 in 2012.

“The trend in total housing starts declined in June following a moderation in both single-detached and multi-family construction,” said Goodson Mwale, CMHC senior market analyst for Saskatchewan.

“While continued job growth and net migration will keep housing demand elevated this year, high supply levels and the risk of rising inventories are motivating local builders to scale back production.”

The news comes one day after Statistics Canada released data saying the value of residential permits issued in April was down 24.3 per cent for the month from last year.