OTTAWA—The pace of home construction in Canada picked up last month and a lot of the push came from Ontario, the federal housing agency said Wednesday, offering the latest evidence that the economy is building momentum. Activity in the multi-unit sector fell but there was a big jump in single, detached homes in urban areas, CMHC said. There were 71,871 single detached houses started in February in urban areas — up 12.1 per cent from the prior month — mostly because of Ontario, where there has been a shortage in the Toronto area. The lack of supply, particularly for detached homes, has been a major factor driving up prices in the city and other parts of southern Ontario. “Prices are telling builders to build, and that’s exactly what they’re doing,” CIBC economist Nick Exarhos wrote in a research note.

Source: thestar March 08, 2017 18:55 UTC