Construction of multi-family housing was down in March in the greater Vancouver area, but housing starts for single-family detached homes were up, according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
CMHC’s data shows 20,096 housing starts in March 2013, compared with 14,464 in February.
The highest number of both multi-family and single detached housing starts occurred in the City of Vancouver. In March 2013, CMHC recorded 265 single family and 929 multi-family housing starts in the city. That compares with 164 single family and 1,331 multi-family starts in March 2012.
The next highest municipality was Surrey, with 196 single family and 451 multi-family starts in March 2013.
Lance Jakubec, a market analyst with CMHC, described the Vancouver trend as “stable.”
CMHC’s national data showed a 2.7% decrease in housing starts in Canadian cities. Single detached housing starts in urban areas were down 6.6%, while multi-family construction was mostly unchanged. In B.C., urban housing starts were up 13.1%.
“As expected, the trend in total housing starts continued to moderate in March,” said Mathieu Laberge, deputy chief economist at CMHC, of the national numbers. “Builders are adjusting to lower housing demand and as a result, completed and unoccupied units per capita remain relatively close to their historical average.”
