Last year proved to be a banner year for home builders in the London area.
According to statistics released Tuesday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, work began on 3,116 new homes last year. The total represented a huge jump from 2015, when there were 2,104 housing starts in the London Census Metropolitan Area (which includes St. Thomas, Central Elgin, Southwold Township, Strathroy-Caradoc, Thames Centre, Middlesex Centre, and Adelaide-Metcalfe).
"Strong apartment and single-detached starts helped to push total housing starts above 3,000 units for the first time in nearly a decade," said Anthony Passarelli, senior market analyst with CMHC
According to the CMHC, there were 1,238 apartment starts in 2016, more than twice as many as the year before and the most since 1989.
“About two of every three apartment starts in 2016 were intended for the rental market, as builders responded to low vacancy rates. Strong apartment and single-detached starts helped push total housing starts above 3,000 units," said Passarelli.