Sparked by continued demand for affordable accommodation, housing starts in Greater Vancouver increased to 2,288 units –or 52 per cent — in August, compared to the same month last year, according to figures released yesterday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

It was the fifth highest total on record in the region and was surpassed only by May’s total of 2,479 units, which was the third highest ever.

The record of 2,681 was registered in September 1989.

Multi-family dwelling starts accounted for most of the increase, rising 76 per cent with 1,767 units getting under way last month. The new data also showed that housing starts on a year-to-date basis were equally impressive.

Burnaby-New Westminster had the greatest activity, with a 218-per-cent increase in the January to August period, compared to the same period last year.

Also booming were Langley district (89 per cent) and the city of Vancouver (49 per cent).

“The region has a constrained land supply,” said Cameron Muir, CMHC’s market analyst for Greater Vancouver.

“That prompts a more intensive use of land. In the city of Vancouver you see this in high-rise condominiums. In the suburban areas, it takes the form of increased townhouse developments.”

Muir said that even with interest rates bumping up a quarter point earlier this week, historically low mortgage rates continue to attract buyers. But with prices for single-detached homes very high, condos and townhouses have become the popular choice.

To illustrate, he says the number of new condo apartments in Greater Vancouver that are currently vacant is less than 100, whereas in August 1999, there were 2,600.

Howard Steiss, vice-president marketing for developer Adera Group, said he’s seen hot markets like this before. “The construction starts didn’t match the demand when it came on and now the supply side is responding,” he said.

Nationally, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 241,500 in August, up from 218,600 in July.

Meanwhile, Statistics Canada said favourable markets and higher costs for materials and labour continued to push up prices for new houses in July.

They increased by six per cent compared with July 2003.

Prices in Victoria rose by 9.3 per cent, the largest 12-month increase.

© The Vancouver Province 2004