While Vancouver housing starts were flat in April, according to numbers released this morning by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), the municipality's year-to-date housing activity is driving an uptick in the province's residential construction.
Year-to-date housing starts in Vancouver are up 16% compared with last year, boosting provincial housing stars for the same period.
"Residential construction in British Columbia is about 10% ahead of 2011 levels due to a pick-up in multiple-family construction," said Carol Frketich, CMHC's B.C. regional economist.
Not all municipalities saw the same growth, however. Housing starts in Victoria Census Metropolitan Area were down 9% year-to-date and in Kelowna they dropped 27% for the same period.
Conversely, Nanaimo housing starts were up 35%.
