New-home construction continues to suffer in Greater Victoria.

Contractors built just 31 new houses in the region last month, down from 57 during the same month a year ago.

According to data released Wednesday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., 14 of those new houses were built in Langford and six were in Sooke. In contrast, Langford had 32 single-family home starts and Sooke had 8 in January 2010.

Builders blame the long wing-down of the HST and the uncertainty surrounding the tax on new homes, as well as the overall economy and waning consumer confidence as fewer speculation projects move forward and the re-sale market of existing homes cools.

Victoria built just three new homes last month, down from five a year ago, while there was no new activity in the single-family sector in Saanich, Sidney, Colwood, View Royal or the Highlands.

The CMHC said the region showed a modest increase in overall housing starts during January with 82 new units, but 51 of those were condominium units — including a 48-unit condo project in Langford.

It’s the same story in other Island centres. Duncan built six homes in January, down from eight a year ago, while Parksville had six new houses, down from seven a year ago.

Courtenay showed a slight increase with 12 new single-family housing starts, up from 10 a year ago. It also had 10 new condo units, seven more than a year ago.

Nanaimo built 19 new homes, the same as January 2010, and notched a big increase in condo units with 140.