Canada starts ‘stopped’ ?

Higher mortgage costs are expected to slow the pace of Canadian housing starts…

Bob Dugan, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp’s chief economist, recently commented: “Housing construction edged up 0.4% to 228,343 last year, but higher mortgage costs -- reflecting higher home prices – could slow the pace of homebuilding this year by 7.3% to about 211,700 dwellings

“Still, this year will be the seventh consecutive year in which housing starts exceed 200,000 units.  Furthermore, despite some global financial instability with regards to the U.S. housing market, Canada continues to experience robust employment levels, ongoing income gains and low mortgage rates.

"However, housing starts are expected to decrease in 2008 mainly due to recent increases in house prices, which will push mortgage carrying costs higher for home buyers."