Multiple Housing Starts up in March

In the Saint John CMA housing starts were down to 44 in March 2009 from 50 in March 2008. The good news in the numbers is that multiple starts were up to 31 starts, 24% more than in 2008. A CMHC press release posted on Daily Commercial News and Construction Record indicates that overall housing starts are also down in Moncton and Fredericton.

The year-to-date multi-family housing starts for Saint John CMA are up 32.3%, with a low 1.2% decrease in overall starts. According to that stats 163 homes were started in 2009 by the end of March, 123 of these being in multi-family developments.

I feel this story shows demand in the Saint John market may be stronger than was assumed when January multi-listing services figures were released earlier this year.