1008PORT
Housing starts up in Portage
Measuring the increase in housing in Portage la Prairie isn`t like marking notches on a wall with a ruler as a child gets bigger. It depends on the ruler, and who`s doing the measuring.
According to the Portage Planning District`s numbers, which go up to August 2008, the city has seen an increase in building permits since this time last year. Thirty-five permits were issued for new residential single-family houses, double-family houses and multi-unit buildings in 2008, up from 25 last year.
But the Canadian Mortgage Housing Company, which tracks housing starts across the country, published data presenting only 24 new houses in 2008, an increase of only one since 2007. Additionally, the CMHC data says the number of single-family detatched houses started this year dropped by four, whereas the planning district said it increased by eight.
http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/Article....aspx?e=1252386