But urban housing starts in the province drop by 1.1 % compared to last year, reports show
Brian Morton
Sun
Investment in non-residential construction in B.C. has soared to a third-quarter record of $1 billion, while B.C. urban housing starts were in decline, according to separate reports released Tuesday.
Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday that in the third quarter, B.C. non-residential construction continued the strong growth it has undergone since 2001, with increases in all three sectors (commercial, institutional and industrial) across Canada reaching a record investment of $7.9 billion in the third quarter.
The federal agency reported that while all provinces saw increased investment in the third quarter, the activity in each non-residential construction sector in B.C. pushed the value of projects up 11.5 per cent to a record $1 billion.
Meanwhile, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported Tuesday that across B.C., urban housing starts were down 1.1 per cent in the third quarter compared to the same period in 2004.
So far in 2005, the report stated, multiple-unit urban housing starts have increased 3.7 per cent, while single-detached starts were down 10.8 per cent.
CMHC senior market analyst Cameron Muir said in an interview that while overall starts are predicted to be down in 2005, starts in urban B.C. were up 15.7 per cent to 3,230 in September 2005 compared to September 2004 and in Greater Vancouver by 18.4 per cent over the same period to 1,991 units.
“In Vancouver, there is still very high housing demand,” said Muir. “While pent-up demand is beginning to wane, the market has been bolstered by a second wave of home buyers.”
He said that year-to-date, housing starts in Greater Vancouver were down eight per cent to 13,933 units compared to the same time last year. Urban B.C. housing starts have declined two per cent to 23,144 units year to date over 2004.
Peter Simpson, chief executive officer of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association [GVHBA], said in an interview that he’s not surprised with the CMHC report.
“We’ve been saying that starts would level off and that we won’t reach the levels of 2004. But 2004 was the best year in a decade and to come close to that is a fairly good year.”
Keith Sashaw, president of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association, whose organization primarily represents non-residential construction companies, said that investment in non-residential building construction in Greater Vancouver increased by 50.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2005, compared to the third quarter of 2004.
“We’re at the start of a very strong growth curve [in non-residential construction].”
He also said that while the 2010 Olympics is the spark that lit the flame of non-residential construction, it only represents a small portion of the projects to be built. “We’re looking at $72 billion in projects by 2011 or 2012 [in B.C.],” added Sashaw. “The Olympics only represent about $700 million.”
The Statistics Canada report stated that Vancouver posted the highest rate of non-residential construction growth of any major Canadian city for the third straight quarter, rising 11.0 per cent to $630 million.
As well, the report noted, following substantial declines in late 2004, the institutional sector posted the second consecutive quarterly increase because of higher levels of investment in educational and health care institutions in B.C.
In the third quarter, the report said, all components of institutional building construction accounted for B.C. posting the strongest increase for a second straight quarter — 29.8 per cent to $260 million.
Both Simpson and Sashaw noted that the construction industry is facing a shortage of skilled employees, but that projects should nevertheless be completed on time.
“But we’re all concerned about it [the looming shortage of workers],” Simpson added. “There’s a lot being done to address it.”
Sashaw cited several large non-residential construction projects in the next few years, including $1 billion in expansion projects by the Vancouver Port Authority; $600 million for new facilities at the University of B.C.; $1.7 billion for the RAV line; and $350 million for the MSA Hospital in Abbotsford.
