 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Morning business file: Housing falls (8:25 a.m.)
) }4 q( @( C/ X% b0 {3 OA roundup of today's business news so far1 A) s2 M3 e2 n8 } V4 I) P$ f. w
edmontonjournal.com
9 b$ T' e4 D, N; u9 L6 z! k: v+ F$ ?Published: Tuesday, May 08, 2007/ F3 t, O% t! I' c
April housing starts off
+ F$ N! V) D" ]# \4 [ ^4 J
! k- F" d" v; M; f! yOTTAWA (Bloomberg) - Canadian new-home starts unexpectedly fell to their lowest in three months in April, as demand eased in rural areas and for single-family homes.: G8 y# \$ B% P6 a8 Z, n
) X+ Q# D: s8 j1 f, Z9 bHousing starts fell to 211,900 units on an annual basis from 214,000 in March, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said today. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News estimated work would start on 215,000 units, the median of 21 responses.
9 i1 a, E; @. f4 T" {, A4 v
. e" B) Y0 d" a1 } k6 ~) H/ F: r* N- P( e0 c
The slight decrease in housing starts is the result of declines in single-detached and rural area starts," Bob Dugan, the agency's chief economist, said in a statement.
~% E9 v+ E' U; L- [. T7 b" r% C2 v/ t5 o2 b* t0 U$ o
New-home construction, which has contributed to Canada's economic growth in the past few years, will decline because of higher housing prices and rising mortgage costs, the Ottawa- based CMHC and the central bank have said. The Bank of Canada predicted in April that a drop in homebuilding would shave 0.1 percentage point from growth this year and in 2008.9 w: R& [; v* Z1 `3 z* p
1 U' n! j/ w- W9 r& b1 d# ]
That backs up the housing agency's March forecast, for starts to finish 2007 at 209,500 units, from 227,395 in 2006.
) _; m( l8 {3 W& _1 W, t% {
9 t4 t: b. A8 A5 p6 g2 {! RStarts in cities rose 0.6 per cent to 179,000 units during April, led by multiple-family units such as condominiums, while starts in rural areas fell to 32,900. All provinces posted declines, save for Ontario, which had a 9.4-per-cent gain.
! k, j, X V& p& W7 e6 D) x, f% E( x2 G- P3 T% P) g' ?) K: b
The building sector expanded 7.3 per cent last year, making construction the country's fastest-growing industry, according to Statistics Canada. |
|
狗仔卡
发表于 2007-5-8 07:46
提升卡
置顶卡
沉默卡
喧嚣卡
变色卡
显身卡
楼主
发表于 2007-5-8 14:41
