Lack of inventory in the Sarnia area resale market means more new homes are being built to meet demand.
CMHC market analyst Anthony Passarelli says new housing starts have been trending higher all year.
Work started on another 26 single family homes last month, up from 21 in October 2015.
Passarelli says year to date totals are up as well.
He says so far in 2016, work has started on 175 homes compared to 145 in the same time last year.
Across the province housing starts are up 12% while nationally they're down about 3%.
The local numbers include Sarnia, St. Clair Township and Point Edward.
