Housing starts in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 18,423 units in June, compared with 19,000 in May, according to a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation(CMHC) report released July 9.
The figure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates of housing starts.
The 19,000 units seen in May were attributed to an unusual boost in apartment construction, especially in Burnaby, Coquitlam and Richmond.
"Following last month's uptick in multiples housing starts, the June numbers returned to levels more consistent with CMHC's forecast for 2014," said Sarena Teakles, CMHC Senior Market Analyst.
"During the first half of 2014, actual multiple-unit starts declined in Burnaby, North Vancouver, Vancouver, and West Vancouver as well as in the University Endowment Lands."
CMHC said it uses six-month moving averages to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and obtain a more complete picture of the state of the housing market. In some situations, said the CMHC, analyzing only the monthly seasonally adjusted data can be misleading in some markets, as they can be variable from one month to the next.
The standalone monthly SAAR was 18,263 units in June, down from 19,817 units in May. This decrease is the result of fewer apartment starts.
