Province
New home starts in Greater Vancouver continue to be strong as the end of the year approaches, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said yesterday.
Total housing starts are up five per cent over last year’s levels driven by strong multiple-family construction, the CMHC said.
Single-detached starts continue to lag last year’s totals by one-third. “With the average price of a new single-detached house reaching over $800,000 in the Vancouver region, buyers have shifted their demand to lower-priced town homes and apartment condominiums,” said CMHC market analyst Richard Sam.
“As a result, there has been a strong increase in multiple-family home construction in centres north of the Fraser River.”
In the Fraser Valley, October was a slow month, with Abbotsford and Chilliwack recording a total of 105 home starts. Single-detached housing starts in the Abbotsford area continue to outpace last year’s activity by 24 per cent, while multiple-family home construction has dropped by one-third in the area.
“The picture is the opposite in Chilliwack . . . where multiple-family home starts are up by two-thirds, pushing total housing starts 20 per cent over last year’s levels,” the CMHC said.
Across Canada, housing starts fell a greater-than-expected 22 per cent to 219,500 units in October from 281,300 in September. Economists had expected 228,000 units last month.
“The decline in housing starts in October reflects the exceptional strength in new construction in September rather than weakness in October,” said Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC.
© The Vancouver Province 2007
