London builders still going flat out

September 14, 2017


London house after renovations. Photo: CCR Building & Remodelling Inc.

After posting record detached housing starts and sales in July—the highest in a decade—London, Ontario builders are seeing few signs of a slowdown into autumn.
In July, 197 single-detached houses were started in London, the highest level for the month in ten years.
There were 38 multi-family starts, down slightly from 41 in July 2016.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said the London home building sector is getting a major boost from the resale market, which posted record sales this year, especially in homes priced at more than $500,000.
In the first seven months of this year, 723 homes had sold for more than half a million dollars, compared to 268 in the same period last year, the agency reported.
While some had warned that London builders could be facing burnout because of the surge in new home demand, the president of the London Home Builders’ Association said things have settled down slightly since mid-summer.
“[There is] no fear of burnout, but definitely a need for more city staff and construction trades,” said Peder Madsen, who heads CCR Building & Remodeling Inc., “which is the same story across Ontario, if not Canada entirely.”
“The [London area] pace has had a month or so slowdown in terms of Toronto buyers migrating, but we still see record-setting months,” Madsen told Home BUILDER. “The trend has caught back to the standard busy months. I do anticipate the market heating up again and have heard of Toronto buyers coming back. Definitely a prosperous year for London and surrounding area.”