Emma Crawford Hampel
Other
Total housing starts were trending at 19,001 units in May in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data released June 9.
This figure, which represents a six-month moving average of seasonally adjusted annual rates, is an increase of 1.8% compared with 18,670 units in April.
“Increased apartment construction in May contributed to a higher housing starts trend this month compared with April’s starts,” said Robyn Adamache, CMHC senior market analyst for Vancouver
“The majority of May apartment starts were concentrated in the cities of Burnaby, Coquitlam and Richmond.”
Across British Columbia, housing starts were up 0.6% to 26,179 in May over the same period.
“The stable trend in new home construction is in line with economic fundamentals which include: balanced resale market conditions, modest employment growth and low mortgage interest rates,” said CMHC’s B.C. regional economist Carol Frketich.
“May trend levels for multiple-family and single-detached home starts were relatively unchanged compared with April data.”
The CMHC said it uses a moving-average rate instead of a monthly rate as this gives a more complete picture of the market. Looking at monthly data on its own, said the CMHC, can be misleading as markets can vary considerably month-to-month.
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