DURHAM -- Only 156 new homes were started in the Oshawa area this April, down from the same time in 2010.

Preliminary figures recently released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation show that new home starts for the Oshawa census metropolitan area, which includes Whitby and Clarington, were down 14 per cent compared to last April, which saw 182 starts.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/article/177641

DURHAM -- Local real estate markets are expected to outperform other Ontario areas for the next three to five years, according to a report.

Out of hundreds of Ontario cities and towns, Whitby, Ajax, and Pickering tied at the top-seven spot for real estate investment cities in a recently released report by The Real Estate Investment Network.

The report, titled Top Ontario Investment Towns 2011-2015, looks at the current and future prospects for real estate investment and identifies the areas expected to outperform. At No. 1 is Hamilton.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/article/177628

According to an annual homebuyers poll done for the Royal Bank of Canada and released Wednesday, Ontario homebuyers are much more cautious in their outlook this year than last. Potential buyers who say it makes more sense to buy a home this year than next dropped to 56 per cent. That's down from 68 per cent a year earlier.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/article/173186

The average price for February of $301,855 was virtually the same as January’s yet also reflects a 5% increase from $286,635 last February.

Listings available on the Multiple Listing System® (MLS®) remain relatively low at 1640. There are 13.7% more homes for sales since January (1415) but when compared with February 2010’s 1716, the inventory is still 4 percent lower.

President Dierdre Mullen commented that “With sales activity on the rise and home prices stabilizing since last autumn, we expect sellers who hesitated to get into the market in 2010 to list their properties in 2011. With sales and new listings increasing in tandem, the market has remained balanced.”

OSHAWA -- Local students take note -- the City wants to know where you live.

A controversial recommendation that council voted down when it passed Oshawa's Student Accommodation Strategy last spring is now back in play.

On Feb. 22, council voted 9-1 to ask Durham College, UOIT and Trent University to "establish a mechanism" to identify where students are living -- while at the same time protecting their privacy.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/article/172166