New home construction starts in Metro Vancouver were up again in November, especially in the multi-family sector, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) statistics released December 8.
Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) housing starts were trending at 21,651 units in November compared with 21,590 units in October. The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates of housing starts.
“Starts in November continue to trend at a high level after an active summer and early fall of new construction activity, particularly in the multiple-unit segment,” said Richard Sam, CMHC principal, Market Analysis for Vancouver.
“Lower inventories of newly completed and unsold condominiums have prompted builders to build more homes in the CMA, with the cities of Surrey and Vancouver accounting for just under half of all new homes started year-to-date.”
Housing starts in the Abbotsford-Mission CMA were trending at 987 units in November, up from 845 units in October. There was an increase in both the single-detached and apartment condominium starts that led to the rising trend. Actual year-to-date starts were 62 per cent above last year’s levels.
The trend measure of housing starts across Canada was 208,401 units in November compared with 206,125 in October, the CMHC announced on the same day.
“The trend in housing starts increased for a seventh consecutive month due to the multi-unit segment,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist.
“Rising single home prices continue to support demand for multiples, which are poised to reach the largest proportion of total urban starts since 1971. However, inventory management is necessary to make sure that these units do not remain unsold upon completion.”
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.
