Halifax housing starts quadruple from 2014

Halifax last month saw a dramatic increase in housing starts, quadrupling figures from April 2014.

The latest Conference Board of Canada report said home starts totalled 3,083 last month, based on a 12-month average. The count included single-detached homes and multiple-unit dwellings. Last year’s total was only 661.

However, this does not mean a celebration for Nova Scotia Home Builders’ Association, particularly for its chief executive Paul Pettipas.

“That sounds like a tremendous amount,” Pettipas was quoted as saying by The Chronicle Herald. “But the only reason there’s a huge upward trend is because we had a terrible month (in) April 2014.”

When looked into as a stand-alone figure, the area’s total housing starts are up 12.5 per cent during the first four months of 2015, Pettipas said, noting “that’s because of an increase in multiple-unit construction.”
 

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