Prince George, B.C. – Housing starts in the Prince George were down in July  compared to where they were  in July of last year.

According to CMHC,  there were 25 single family home starts last month, compared to 29  in July of 2016.

The year to date numbers  are off the mark as well, but  that is because of the  reduction in starts for multiple family units.   From January to  end of July  last  year,  there had been 116 multiple family unit starts,    while during the same  period this year,  there have been just 27.

There has been little change in the starts for single  family dwellings during the 7 months of this year ,  with  95 such starts, compared to 94  during the same period a year ago.

Among urban centres with populations  of  50 thousand to 99 thousand,   Chilliwack,  Courtney and Nanaimo  have all  seen  increases in the total housing starts for the first seven months of  2017  compared to the same period  last year.

Prince George, Kamloops, and Vernon  all experienced   year to date declines,  all related to  a drop in the number of starts for multiple family units in their  respective communities.