November housing starts in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) totalled 1,686, an 84% increase over November 2010 figures, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) numbers released this morning.
Of those, the City of Vancouver saw 500 starts, up from 256 in November 2010.
“For the City of Vancouver, [there has been] a fairly large number of single family starts this month,” CMHC senior market analyst Robyn Adamache told Business in Vancouver. “And I think most of that would be in-fill building because there’s just not a lot of land left.”
Adamache noted that building has been strong “in the usual places,” like Vancouver, Surrey, Richmond and, to a lesser extent, Burnaby and Coquitlam.
“That makes sense, given migration to the region,” she said.
The CMHC numbers show that Vancouver CMA housing starts have increased 23% year-to-date, while starts in the City of Vancouver have dropped 1% year-to-date over 2010.
Adamache said there haven’t been any particular peaks and valleys in building trends in the City of Vancouver this year.
“It’s been pretty consistent throughout the year – less single family home building and more on the multi-family side.”
Overall, construction has fared well in the region in 2011, she said.
“It’s been a stronger year than maybe I would have expected.”
Jenny Wagler
@JennyWagler_BIV