Ashley Ford
Province
Greater Vancouver housing starts took a bit of a breather last month, dipping 29 per cent from the same month a year ago, to 1,270 units.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s latest figures, however, show single-detached starts increasing 18 per cent to 490 units, while multiple starts fell 44 per cent to 780 units, compared to May a year ago.
Housing officials says the blip is nothing to worry about and the market remains robust.
“Fewer housing starts in May were no surprise,” said Cameron Muir, CMHC senior market analyst. “Typically, rising multiple starts over a number of months, as was experienced February through April, will precipitate a short-lived dip in new construction activity.”
“Low new-home inventories and favourable economic conditions will keep Greater Vancouver home builders working flat-out again this year,” added Muir.
Peter Simpson of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders Association said, “There is nothing unusual about these numbers.”
“Five months do not a year make,” he said. “We are still looking at a 19-per-cent increase this year over last.
“If that is attained, it will make 2006 the best year since 1993. There are still significant projects to come and, looking ahead, 2007 will again be a robust year.”
CMHC forecasts Greater Vancouver starts to increase to 20,500 units in 2006, the highest number in more than a decade.
Year-to-date, housing starts across the Lower Mainland have increased 19 per cent to 8,667 units compared to the same period last year.
The CMHC and Statistics Canada also said yesterday that the number of new home buyers slipped for the fourth consecutive month as the red-hot housing market began to cool amid rising mortgage rates and the biggest home-price increase in 17 years.
StatsCan said the new housing price index rose 1.2 per cent in April to 138.2, the biggest month-to-month jump in 17 years. Prices rose in 14 of the 21 metropolitan areas, the agency said.
© The Vancouver Province 2006
