January housing starts on the rise

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Canada's housing market is on the rebound with resales expected to set a new annual record this year and homebuilding off to a strong start, according to two reports issued Monday.

The Canadian Real Estate Association is forecasting that national home sales activity will reach 527,300 units this year, up 13.3% from 2009.

This would be a new annual record, up 1.2% above the previous peak in 2007, CREA said Monday.

Low interest rates and home buyers wishing to avoid the harmonized sales tax before it comes into effect in Ontario and British Columbia will help fuel the resales in the first half of this year, the association said in a news release.

"Improved financial market stability and recovering global economic growth mean that home sales activity in 2010 is unlikely to repeat the dive it experienced in late 2008 and early 2009," said CREA chief economist Gregory Klump.

New housing starts have also gone up, according to figures released Monday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

The annual rate of housing starts reached 186,300 in January, up 5.8% from 176,100 in December.

CMHC reports actual housing starts for 2009 totalled 149,081 units, with activity improving as the year progressed.

The agency said the urban starts increased 4.4% to 165,200 in January.

Urban multiple starts rose 5.7% to 76,300 while single urban starts increased 3.3% to 88,900.

January's annual rate of urban starts increased 19.8% in British Columbia, 7.3% in Quebec, 2.3% in Atlantic Canada, and 1.5% in Ontario.

Urban starts were down 4.8% on the Prairies.

Rural starts were estimated at 21,100 in January.

In a separate development announced Monday, the federal Competition Bureau says it's challenging rules imposed by the Canadian Real Estate Association, a body that represents nearly 100,000 real-estate brokers, agents and salespeople.

The federal agency says the CREA rules limit choices for consumers and force them to pay for services they don't want, also stifling innovation in the market for residential real estate services

(02/08/10)