Housing starts in Metro Vancouver increased 61% year-over-year in August to 1,488 units, as multiple family units continued to dominate new home construction activity, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
That brings the total number of housing starts in Vancouver to 9,493 units this year, which is a 98% increase from the same period in 2009.
Multiple family housing starts in Metro Vancouver increased 75% year-over-year to 1,035 units in August, while single-detached housing starts in the city increased 36% year-over-year to 334 units in last month.
“Many centres across the Vancouver [census metropolitan area] have seen a rise in single detached housing starts in response to strong consumer demand for ground oriented housing,” Robyn Adamache, CMHC’s senior market analyst, said in a release. “Not only are developers building in areas of raw land supply, but also there has been an increase in infill developments in areas such as Vancouver City, Burnaby and Richmond.”
Seasonally adjusted housing starts in urban areas of B.C. increased from 20,100 units in July to 25,400 units in August.
Kelowna has experienced the largest percentage increase in housing starts this year, with 697 units, which is a 165% jump from the same time period last year.
Vernon has experienced the largest drop in starts this year, with only 170 units built this year - a 4.5% decline from the same period in 2009.
With a 0.2% decline, Nanaimo is the only other notable urban area in B.C. to experience a decline in housing starts this year.