Investment in BC home building rose in August nearly 17 per cent year over year and 10.8 per cent since last month to $809 million, according to Statistics Canada data published October 21.
Multi-family housing construction once again led the investment growth in BC, rising 29.3 per cent compared with August 2014, and 15.2 per cent month over month, to a total of $353 million – almost closing the gap on single-family home investment.
Continuing the recent trend, the province’s detached home construction spend also increased, although at a slower growth rate, with the $360 million of investment across BC a 9.5 per cent rise over August last year and a 8.8 per cent jump from July.
BC’s townhouse/row home construction investment continued to perform strongly, increasing 18.2 per cent year over year to $69.5 million in August. This was an 8.7 per cent rise over July 2015.
As with last month, the only properties to see a year-over-year drop in construction investment in August were duplexes, spending on which fell 15.5 per cent year over year and 9.4 per cent month over month to $26.6 million.
The province’s total $809 million new home construction spend was once again the third highest total in the country, after Ontario and Alberta. However, BC’s annual home investment growth rate easily outstripped both those provinces, and was Canada’s second highest, with the Northwest Territories’ comparatively small investment of $3.3 million in August representing a 72 per cent year-over-year rise.
Across Canada, new home spending continued to remain almost flat compared with a year ago, totalling $4.4 billion in August, up just 0.4 per cent from the same month a year earlier.
Statistics Canada reported notable year-over-year declines in single-family housing and duplex construction spending nationwide, as investment in these property types fell 11.6 and 12.8 per cent respectively.
Those drops were offset by higher investment in apartment and condominium building construction across Canada, up 24.8 per cent to $1.6 billion, as well as higher spending on row house and townhome construction, up 16.9 per cent to $432 million.
However, across the country, detached homes still saw the biggest total investment in August at $2.2 billion.
To see Statistics Canada’s interactive chart, click here.
