January 2009

U.S. housing starts in December were down 15.5% from November, and 45% below December 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
 
Privately-owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 550,000 in December.
 
Single-family housing starts in December were at a rate of 398,000; this is 13.5% below the November figure. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 145,000.
 
An estimated 904,300 housing units were started in 2008. This is 33.3% below the 2007 figure of 1,355,000.

By region, the Northeast saw a 15.4% drop in housing starts in 2008, Midwest had a 35.7% decline, the South a 33.5% fall, and the West was down …

Source: Statistics Canada

Investment in non-residential construction reached $11 billion in current dollars in the fourth quarter of 2008, up 1.7% from the third quarter. In 2002 constant dollars, however, investment was down 1.2% from the third quarter.

The increase in current dollars was mainly the result of rises in institutional and commercial building construction. Investors spent $6.8 billion on commercial projects, up 1.5% from the third quarter, while in the institutional component, investment rose 3.7% to $2.8 billion. Spending in the industrial component declined 1% to $1.4 billion.

All provinces and two territories recorded advances in the fourth …