New Saskatoon housing starts were up in July compared to the previous year, led by single-detached homes.
According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), there were 187 starts during the month, compared to 175 in July 2015.
The increase was fueled by single-detached homes, with 122 starts in July, compared to 95 in the same period last year.
READ MORE: House listings in Saskatoon slide during July, prices relatively stable
Multi-family starts were down, with 65 starts during the month, off from the 80 starts in July 2015.
“The overall trend in housing starts was relatively stable in July after a slightly higher pace of single-detached construction was countered by a slowing trend in multi-unit starts,” said Goodson Mwale, CMHC’s senior market snalyst for Saskatchewan.
“Compared to 2015, total housing starts in Saskatoon have unfolded at a much slower pace this year, largely due to weaker economic conditions, higher resale supply, and elevated inventory of completed and unsold units.”
READ MORE: New condo project proposed at Saskatoon’s Market Mall
Overall housing starts for the year-to-date is down from 2015. Construction has started on 1,099 homes in 2016 compared to 1,339 last year, with the drop due solely to multi-family units.
There have been 498 multi-family housing starts in 2016, off from the 746 that had been started in the same time period last year, while construction started on 601 single-detached homes, an increase of eight units.