The finance minister is blaming rising interest rates for a dramatic drop in the province’s housing starts.
While many of the province’s economic indicators are positive, housing starts in Newfoundland and Labrador are way down.
The Bank of Canada held its key interest rate at five percent last week after a succession of rate increases.
The province’s fall fiscal update shows that consumer spending, population and employment figures are up, but the province is forecasting a total of just 899 housing starts for 2023.
That’s down approximately 35 percent from last year when there were more than 1300.
Finance Minister Siobhan Coady says high interest rates are largely to blame, but the province has introduced a number of incentives to try to stimulate the development of housing units to respond to the current crunch.
“Yes, housing starts are down” says Coady, “we’re seeing the effect of interest rates being up. That’s why we’re encouraging developers to invest in development.”