The construction of condominiums in Toronto, Canada dropped significantly in December 2015, according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. This fall in the rate of construction last month led to fewer housing in place in 2016.
The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that the annual rate of housing in December had a total of 172,965 homes. It was a sharp drop from the 212,028 count in November. This is far from the economic prediction of 200,000 homes per annum, according to a report by the Thomson Reuters.
"Although we're ending the year on a soft note, housing was one area that surprised to the upside in 2015, with the 194,000 average building pace up around 10,000 from the prior year," said Nick Exarhos from CIBC Capital Markets.
Canada's housing is one of the country's economically stable sectors while oil prices and other commodities drop dramatically. However, economic analysts think that there might be an oversupply of condominiums in the region.
Senior Economist Robert Kavcic from the Bank of Montreal suggested that "Toronto was the big mover in December, with condo starts plunging to the lowest since September 2014."
Although Canada was predicted to have a slow and low housing market in 2015, it was able to gain strong housing demands, especially in Toronto and Vancouver. The sales in these two largest markets were boosted and the prices also increased. However, some other parts of Canada saw a decline in housing rates.
Urban starts also fell in other places in the country, such as Prairies, Ontario, and Atlantic Canada. On the other hand, the British Columbia and Quebec had an increase in the overall urban start unit pace.
Actual housing starts increased from 189,329 units in 2014 to 195,536 in 2015. There were also accelerated residential investments in the second half of 2015.
