There was a big jump in housing starts in the London area last month.
The Canada Mortage and Housing Corporation says work began on 225 homes in February, compared to 64 in February of last year.
The main reason for the jump was the start of construction on an apartment building in London, according to a CMHC official.
“The total starts trend moved up as February marked the first month since last August that an apartment building with more than 50 units started in London," says Anthony Passarelli, Senior Market Analyst with CMHC. "The building will be purpose-built for the rental market. Developers are anticipating stronger rental demand in London due to a growing number of households headed by persons aged 25 to 34 years old and 75 years and older, stable levels of immigration and greater employment," said
So far this year, work has begun on 289 homes in the London-St. Thomas area. At this time last year, the figure was 126.