Prince George, B.C. – Housing starts were up last month in Prince George.

“Construction activity in Prince George was up in September with 24 starts for the month compared with 17 in the same month last year,” says Taylor Pardy, senior market analyst with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

He says it’s part of an overall trend this year.

“In 2015 there have been 128 single detached starts in Prince George compared to 88 starts over the same period last year and there have been 73 multiple family starts compared to seven in the same period in 2014.”

Why the increase?

“We attribute this to general strength in the resale market or the tightness in terms of declining listings relative to sales. It spills over into the new home market and that seems to be the case with Prince George.”

He expects the good news to continue. “I think there’s going to be steady new construction activity due to factors like the tightness in the resale market and that puts upward pressure for new building.”