Real estate starts in Canada dropped by 1.5% in March, following a brilliant beginning to 2010 with larger figures in both January and February. There were 189,000 unit starts in January, with 7.5 percent growth. This was followed by a rise of 6% in February, to a sum of 200,400, the only time that the 200,000 level was passed since October 2008.

Real estate was one of the fastest moving areas to display signs of recovery following the economic downturn, as low interest and federal funding programs encouraged lenders to dole out funds. These components are now starting to fade away, and as the real estate market goes back to normal, the number of house starts is being affected. Economists predict the housing market to decline during the latter parts of 2010. Purchasers, however, are still hunting for real estate in parts like Mississauga and searches for Mississauga MLS listings is on the rise.

The March numbers for real estate starts showed an overall decline to a seasonally-adjusted annual basis of 197,300. Economists responding to a Bloomberg poll had forecast it to be 205,000.

The total for house starts in March was extracted from a much more wide-ranging picture, with assorted geographic regions and real estate types experiencing their own surges and losses. Starts of condominiums and apartment buildings were significantly lessened, however single occupancy homes saw an increase.Even still many builders are discovering that they may resume previously halted projects like Mississauga condominiums that had slowed or interrupted. Particular parts of the country were also showing gains, as others saw big declines in real estate starts.

The largest decline, of 15.2 percent, guided multiple unit dwellings down to 77,500 starts in March. In the face of this significant decline, this is a unpredictable sector within the real estate sector, which may turn around rapidly.

Particular areas of strong growth were hidden within the overall decline. Starts of single occupancy homes reached the highest position for the last four years, with a gain of 6.9% to a total of 97,700 starts. This made March the eleventh consecutive month during which this sector increased, with a total growth of 126% since its lowest position during the recent recession.

The ups and downs in real estate starts were healthier in certain areas of the country. Quebec and the Prairies saw larger amounts of starts, of 13.5% and 7.3%, respectively. There was an diminishment of starts in British Columbia (16.3%), Ontario (15.5%) and Atlantic Canada (7.3%).

Gains happened more commonly in rural sections, however some urban sections also saw progress in housing starts, with Vancouver having 76 percent more starts in this period than in the equivalent one last year. An estimated total of 22,100 property starts happened in rural Canada for March, compared to 17,600 in February. In urban sections, property starts slowed to 175,200 units, a decline of 4.2%.

These new numbers for March brought the quarterly shift in house starts to a moderate gain of 8.2%. This was much less than the gains in the two prior quarters, of 15.2% and 22.1%, but house starts were still larger for the first three months of 2010 in spite of March’s diminishment in house starts.

Author Bio: Stefan Hyross is an seasoned writer on the subject of real estate and writes for Square1condosforsale.com that focuses on Mississauga condominiums and townhomes. You can start your hunt for Mississauga MLS listings by visiting the website as well as stay up-to-date regarding the market.

Category: Real Estate
Keywords: real estate, home buying, home selling