Housing starts in the Regina area declined by 43 per cent in June from a year ago, led by multi-family dwellings, where only 80 units were started, compared with 242 in June 2015, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) said Monday.

But both CMHC and local home builders say the level of residential construction activity is on track with expectations for the year.

Total housing starts in June were 170, compared with 300 during the same month last year. Single-detached starts were up 55 per cent to 90 from 58 in June 2015, while multiple-unit starts were down 67 per cent during the same period.

For the year to date, housing starts totalled 587, down 28 per cent from 815 in the first half of 2015. Similar to June, most of the decline was in multiple-unit starts, down 54 per cent to 270 from 583 during the first six months of last year, while single-detached starts were up 37 per cent to 317 from 232 during the first half of 2015.  

Housing starts in the Regina area were trending at 1,227 units in June, compared with 1,073 in May, according to CMHC’s six-month moving average of seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of total housing starts.

“The overall trend in housing starts moved up in June, after both single-detached and multi-unit construction trended up from the previous month. After six months, total housing starts are unfolding in line with CMHC’s forecast range of 1,180 units to 1,470 units for 2016,” said Goodson Mwale, CMHC’s senior market analyst for Saskatchewan.

“Moving forward, weak economic conditions and elevated inventory of complete and unsold units will continue to constrain starts over the remainder of the year,” Mwale added.

 Stu Niebergall, president and CEO of the Regina and Region Home Builders’ Association, said the level of activity is consistent with forecasts and “indicates good stability in the new housing market.”

“At the six-month point in the year, the Regina residential construction industry is tracking spot on (with) our forecast for the year. We were anticipating approximately 1,250 to 1,300 starts in 2016, with 50 per cent single-attached and 50 per cent multi-unit,” Niebergall said.