Fewer homes getting built, what does that translate to?
Companies wanting to conserve cash rather than invest in new structures, along with slumping prospects for homeowners, hammered the residential and non-residential ends of the building sector.
As a result, fewer homes and big structures are getting built across Canada.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said housing starts — the point at which shovels go into the ground — were basically flat in January, compared with December, once adjusted for seasonal variations.
If you grossed up January's starts for 12 months, there were 177,300 new homes begun in the month, a marginal decline from 178,000 one month earlier.
Preliminary numbers also showed that Canadian builders started seven per cent fewer homes in 2008 than they did in 2007.
In the short term, the fewer inventory, may not translate to anything but in a mid to long run, it will increase the demand for existing and resale housing and will increase the prices again and then new homes projects will be again feasible.