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This article was published 12/1/2016 (1711 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Local builders were banging out new rental apartments at the fastest pace in nearly three decades last year, which helped boost overall housing starts to unexpectedly high levels.

Year-end data released Monday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. show there were 1,651 new rental starts last year in the Winnipeg Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), which includes Winnipeg and 10 neighbouring municipalities.

That's more than twice as many as in the previous year, when there were 655. It was also the most recorded in a single year since at least 1989.

The surge in rental starts also helped to boost total multi-family starts, which includes rental units and condominiums, to their highest level since 1987, at 2,751 units.

That, in turn, boosted total starts -- single-family and multi-family combined-- to a surprisingly high 4,400 units. Not only was that 3.6 per cent higher than 2014's total of 4,248, but it easily surpassed CMHC expectations.

As late as October, it was forecasting a 7.6 per cent decline in housing starts for the Winnipeg CMA in 2015. But the industry rattled off two strong months to close out the year, posting a 17.6 per cent increase in combined starts in November and a 26 per cent gain in December -- 286 versus 227 in December 2014.

As was the case for much of the year, it was the multi-family side of the market that led the way in December, racking up a 53.7 per cent increase in starts -- 166 units compared with 108. The number of single-family starts was essentially unchanged -- 120 versus 119.

For the year as a whole, the difference between the two sides of the market was even more pronounced. Multi-family starts were up by 16 per cent to 2,751 units, while single-family starts were down by 12.1 per cent to 1,649 units.

Lai Singh Louie, CMHC's regional economist for the Prairie region, said one of the biggest contributors to 2015's strong housing-start numbers was the addition of 13,400 new full-time positions to the Winnipeg economy. That's an increase of 3.9 per cent.

"That kind of job growth allows people to buy (homes)," he said.

He said the surge in apartment construction also helped, noting rental units accounted for 37.5 per cent of all multi-family starts last year in the CMA.

"With the rise in rental starts, this tells us rental investors feel that demand is sufficient and rents are enough to take the risk of building rental units," he said.

"Also, Winnipeg is experiencing a gain in social housing units. There were 127 social housing rental units started in 2015, up from 74 a year earlier."

Manitoba Home Builders Association president Mike Moore said more apartments and condos are being built because single-detached homes are becoming too expensive for some first-time buyers.

"It's tough for young people to break into the housing market. Outside the city it isn't quite as bad, but within the city it's getting less and less affordable," he said.

He said every time there are changes to local building codes or permit fees, it adds to the cost of a new home.

"It's not like Winnipeg is quieting down because we're still getting lots of building," he said.

"But every little bit contributes to the cost and I think we all, whether it's at the federal provincial or municipal level, we have to look at the costs associated (with buying a new home) and what the market will bear. I think we have to be careful as to not price people out of the market."

Nationally, housing starts ended 2015 at a slower pace than expected as the rate of new condominium construction slowed in Toronto.

CMHC said housing starts in Canada in December came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 172,965 homes, down from 212,028 in November.

Economists had expected an annual pace of 200,000, according to Thomson Reuters.

December's slowdown came as the rate of urban starts fell 19.1 per cent in December to 159,007 units.

Multiple-family urban starts dropped 27.0 per cent to 101,264, while single-detached urban starts held steady at 57,743.

"Toronto was the big mover in December, with condo starts plunging to the lowest since September 2014," Bank of Montreal senior economist Robert Kavcic wrote in a report. "This is hardly bad news, and even a relief for policy-makers after starts were running too hot for comfort earlier in the year."

-- with files by The Canadian Press

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca