Canada Building Surge Continues in March at Decade-Best Pace

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian builders continued their elevated pace of construction in March, with developers producing another stronger-than-expected result.

Builders began work on an annualized 225,213 units during the month, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Tuesday in Ottawa. Construction has averaged 226,842 units since October, the highest six-month average in a decade.

It’s a jump in construction that has surprised policy makers and analysts, giving a boost to the economy and a vote of confidence in a real estate market coping with tougher regulations. Sales have slowed in recent months after various levels of government took measures to curb surging prices in places like Toronto and Vancouver.

“Robust residential construction activity continues, led by the major markets,” Robert Kavcic, senior economist in Toronto at BMO Capital Markets, wrote Tuesday in a note to clients. “The correction we’re seeing -- Toronto now and Vancouver recently -- still remains largely an asset price phenomenon at the higher end of the market, with underlying demographic demand still strong.”

Housing starts declined 2.5 percent in March from 231,026 units in February, which was one of the strongest months in the past decade.

Economists had expected 216,800 starts, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey.

The decline in March was driven by multiple urban starts, which fell more than 7 percent to 144,578 units, the agency said. Semi-detached starts climbed almost 10 percent to 63,659 units.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Fournier in Ottawa at cfournier3@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Theophilos Argitis at targitis@bloomberg.net.

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