Housing starts in the Saskatoon census metropolitan area (CMA) were up in September, according to preliminary numbers released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
The report, released on Tuesday, states construction started on 208 units in September 2016, up 40 from the same month last year.
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Broken down, 80 multi-family units and 128 single-detached homes were started last month.
Despite the increase, Goodson Mwale, CMHC’s senior market analyst for the province, said weak economic conditions are still affecting the market.
“The trend in total housing starts rose further in September after local home builders increased production of single-detached units,” Mwale said in a release.
“Nonetheless, weak economic conditions and elevated resale supply remain a constraining factor for overall housing starts this year.”
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There have been 1,501 total starts in the Saskatoon CMA this year compared to 1,655 over the same period in 2015.
Saskatchewan’s total urban starts were at 2,940 by the end of September, down from 3,189 in 2015.
CMHC’s preliminary housing starts for Canada last month were at 18,531.