Nearly all snapped up as soon as they’re finished
Paul Lukes
Province
An estimated half of apartment condominiums under construction in Vancouver are pre-sold. Gerry Kahrmann file photo – The Province
Brisk condo construction pushed housing starts in the Vancouver area up by 10.3 per cent in the first five months of 2008 from the same period last year, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says.
A 14.9-per-cent increase in multi-family units offset a 7.4-per-cent decline in single-family homes over this period, CMHC said yesterday.
CMHC senior market analyst Robyn Adamache said an estimated half of apartment condominiums under construction are pre-sold.
Over the past year, 98 per cent of condo units sold in the same month they were finished.
“This has left a very lean supply of completed and unsold new apartments on the market,” Adamache said.
“While the supply of unsold new condominiums has been edging up since last year, it remains at less than one-third of the 10-year average.”
In the Abbotsford area, multi-unit buildings have staged a rebound this year.
Abbotsford housing starts in the first five months of 2008 rose by 34.1 per cent from the same period last year, driven by a 67.6-per-cent surge in multi-family units, CMHC said.
Seasonally adjusted urban starts in B.C. climbed to 35,400 in May from 34,900 in April.
Nationally, Canadian housing starts rose more than expected in May, with single-family units leading the gains, the CMHC report said.
Activity was up 3.5 per cent last month to a seasonally adjusted 221,300 units.
That’s compared with 213,900 units in April.
Most analysts had expected an average of 220,000 units in May as the housing market cools.
“There has also been a noticeable fall-off in the rate of price increase for existing homes,” Millan Mulraine, economics strategist at TD Securities.
“In the end, this report does confirm our view that the Canadian housing market will remain in reasonable shape, though we expect activity in 2008 to remain below the blistering pace of 2007.”
RBC Economics said the weakening is consistent with signs of declining housing affordability last year as housing prices outstripped income gains.
“A weakening in housing will be a factor contributing to the Bank of Canada cutting the overnight rate by 25 basis points today, though concern about the ongoing credit tightening and dampening effect on U.S. growth are the greater motivating factors,” RBC said.
© The Vancouver Province 2008
