Housing spending hits $19.8B in first quarter
Canadians spent $19.8 billion on housing through the first three months of this year, up 7.5 per cent from the first quarter of 2007, Statistics Canada said Monday.
The overall value includes spending on new housing construction, on renovations and on acquisition costs, which include sales tax, land development charges and fees and premiums for mortgage insurance.
Statistics Canada said that in the January-to-March quarter, new housing investment increased by 8.8 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2007 to $9.7 billion.
Spending on apartments increased by 17.5 per cent to $2.6 billion, while spending on single-family housing construction rose by 3.7 per cent to $5.6 billion.
The increase for single-family housing was due exclusively to higher prices, Statistics Canada said, adding that the growth in spending on apartments was mainly linked to new construction starts.
Renovation spending came to $8.4 billion, a 7.2 per cent increase compared with the first quarter of 2007
Acquisition costs rose 1.3 per cent to $1.7 billion.
The biggest increases in residential investment occurred in British Columbia, where spending shot up 21.2 per cent to $4 billion. Spending in Alberta was up 9.1 per cent to $3.5 billion, and in Ontario by four per cent to $6.9 billion. Quebec, Prince Edward Island and the three territories reported decreases.
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