CMHC: Metro Vancouver housing starts strong in December
Posted: Jan 11 2011 Topic: Industry News Briefs
Metro Vancouver’s housing starts finished 2010 on a strong note, recording 15,217 new homes over the year, close to the 10-year average, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
The CMHC report, released Tuesday, concluded that the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) had 4,533 single family and 10,684 multiple unit starts in 2010.
As well, Vancouver’s new home construction sector recorded 1,715 housing starts in December.
“An uptick in apartment condominium starts in Vancouver city, Burnaby, and Port Coquitlam accounted for the year-end surge in homebuilding,” CMHC’s B.C. regional economist Carol Frketich said in a statement.
In B.C., December’s seasonally adjusted rate of urban housing starts rose 47 per cent to 27,900 units, from 19,000 units in November. Vancouver’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts increased to 21,600 units in December from 10,900 units in November.
In the Abbotsford CMA, annual housing starts fell short of their 10-year average of 896 units. Concrete was poured for a total of 42 residential units in December, bringing the annual total to 516 homes started.
Nationally, housing construction slowed by a more-than-expected 13.5 per cent in December, led by a decline in multiple-unit activity in Ontario, CMHC said.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts totalled 171,500 units during the month, following a upwardly revised 198,000 units in November.
“Housing starts moved lower in December due to the multiple starts segment, especially in Ontario,” said CMHC’s chief economist Bob Dugan. “Single-detached starts were also down, but minimally.”
Economists had expected about 180,000 housing starts in December.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts fell 13.3 per cent to 149,100. Multiple-unit construction was down 20.1 per cent in December to 84,500 units, while single urban starts declined 2.6 per cent to 64,600 units.
In Ontario, urban starts dropped 45.4 per cent in December, while Atlantic Canada saw a 9.8 per cent decline. Quebec rose 13.5 per cent and Prairies gained 0.7 per cent.
The annual rate of rural housing starts totalled 22,400 units, down from 26,200 in November.