Housing starts rebound in October: CMHC
Published: Nov. 08, 2006

The number of housing units being created rose to 223,200 in October. The numbers are surprising, but it shows that the real estate market is slowing down too. Multiple starts are of condominiums and townhouses which affect the total number of starts. One condominium can equal to 100 starts. Single starts (actual houses) have fallen 4.2%. What are starts? It is the term used to label buildings started and being built.

The article makes a comparison on how Canada's housing market is performing better than the U.S. Their "housing market recession is getting deeper and deeper." The housing is mostly in Alberta, where most people will decide to migrate because their job growth seems to be continuing into the next year. Alberta and British Columbia have both been growing in population because of how strong their oil, gas and mining sectors are. In Atlantic Canada, urban starts have dropped by 15.7% and the Prairies have decreased by 6.4%. The CHMC says, "the annual rate of urban starts has increased 8.3% to 191,700 units in October compared to September. "

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Relationship to Ch. 2 - Supply and Demand

The demand for housing in both British Columbia and Alberta are up due to the notion of the provinces having high employment rates. Since the two provinces have thriving industries related to oil, gas and mining in several areas, citizens and immigrants will move to these cities to compete for jobs. Of course, one of the basic needs is a home. Condominiums and townhouses are a popular choice to be built since it seems to be an efficient way to use the land. The want for a single housing unit has decreased since everyone is moving to where they can earn a better living. This would explain why single start rates have fallen everywhere except British Columbia.

The desire for houses is there, but the number of individual houses built has declined. Instead, joint homes are created so that more people can move into the more successful cities. Urban starts have increased considerably because of this. There is a huge demand for homes and although there are many being built, the supply still falls short. Although not stated in the article chosen, there are many citizens that remain homeless because the demand for housing has driven prices very high. This is one of the problems that is derived from a high demand.