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The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released a report showing positive housing starts numbers in the Greater Toronto Area.

According to the report, new home construction remained strong in February. Housing starts reached 2,986, which is a 19 per cent increase from last year.

Of the more than 5,000 starts that were recorded in the first two months of this year — the second best performance since the peak of activity in 2003 — condos accounted for nearly 40%. It seems they're becoming the driving force for the construction industry in the GTA; they've almost doubled since the same period in 2010.

Completions in the same category went up as well. Over 3,000 condominium apartments were completed in the first two months of the year. The volume of finished projects has lowered the number of condos under construction down to only 30,000, which is the lowest number since early 2008. Experts expect this level to hold throughout the year since the number of condominium construction starts should match the number of completed constructions.

This condo construction activity is a reflection of the growing popularity of this housing type among first-time buyers, downsizers, and renters.