The Greater Victoria area has seen what analysts believe to be a “full-blown economic recovery” after its housing starts figure for this month jumped almost thrice the number from 2014.
Homebuilders in the area have posted 744 new housing units since January, data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. showed.
“Certainly, these are numbers we haven’t seen in quite a while,” Casey Edge, executive director of the Victoria Residential Builders Association, was quoted as saying by Time Colonist.
He noted that low interest rates, increasing population, strong resale market and solid employment are some of the factors for the healthy numbers.
“I would say that if people have been sitting on the fence of the housing market, they might want to look closely. They will see prices increasing. That’s significant as it could be a sign of the start of significant recovery, one we’ve been waiting for in this market for years,” Edge said. “And a lot of that is tied to employment. We are not building homes, even with the low interest rates, unless people are employed.”
However, Statistics Canada on Friday found a different scenario from Victoria’s real estate investing to the area’s unemployment rate. The number of jobless residents went up 6.1 per cent last month.
“Construction activity in both the single-detached and multi-family housing segments trended upwards in April, particularly starts of rental apartments,” said Sarena Teakles, senior market analyst for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
Homebuilders in the area have posted 744 new housing units since January, data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. showed.
“Certainly, these are numbers we haven’t seen in quite a while,” Casey Edge, executive director of the Victoria Residential Builders Association, was quoted as saying by Time Colonist.
He noted that low interest rates, increasing population, strong resale market and solid employment are some of the factors for the healthy numbers.
“I would say that if people have been sitting on the fence of the housing market, they might want to look closely. They will see prices increasing. That’s significant as it could be a sign of the start of significant recovery, one we’ve been waiting for in this market for years,” Edge said. “And a lot of that is tied to employment. We are not building homes, even with the low interest rates, unless people are employed.”
However, Statistics Canada on Friday found a different scenario from Victoria’s real estate investing to the area’s unemployment rate. The number of jobless residents went up 6.1 per cent last month.
“Construction activity in both the single-detached and multi-family housing segments trended upwards in April, particularly starts of rental apartments,” said Sarena Teakles, senior market analyst for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
