Vancouver housing starts have contributed to a boom in construction jobs and are far outpacing those in other parts of North America. The Conference Board of Canada believes that, while housing in the short-term will fall, the long-term picture for the region’s housing starts remains strong.
The think-tank released a report October 14 that grouped Vancouver with cities such as Victoria and Abbotsford, which its analysts believes will share a similar fate.
In contrast, housing starts in Toronto, Montreal and Calgary are expected to rise, both in the short and long term.
Metro Vancouver housing starts rose to 1,783 in September, compared with 1,644 in the same month last year, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) reported last week.
In contrast, U.S. housing starts sank to a three-month low in August (571,000) and analysts at the U.S.-based Financial Forecast Center expect those starts to continue to fall in the coming months until reaching 480,000 in November.
Numbers on U.S. housing starts in September are expected to be released this week.
Glen Korstrom
@GlenKorstrom