If storage units in the Greater Toronto area were hard to come by in March, there’s a reason: More people were moving to the region.
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the seasonally-adjusted annual rate of total housing starts for the city’s metropolitan area increased 17 percent in the month of March, rising by 44,000 units.
Shaun Hildebrand, CMHC’s senior market analyst for the GTA, said condominiums sold particularly well.
“Housing starts data for Toronto continues to display divergent trends for single detached and high rise construction,” said Hildebrand. “Growth was again derived from the condo sector, which showed greater diversity last month as over 40 percent of condo starts occurred in the [Greater Toronto area].
Economists have predicted a market slowdown this year, but as of yet, there’s no indication that fewer people are moving to the area. A recent report from one of Canada’s leading real estate organizations found there was a 5 percent increase in home sales this past quarter. Other regions of the country where home sales have also been increasing include Saskatoon, Greater Vancouver and Winnipeg.