Housing starts in Metro Vancouver were strong for April 2010 with 1,260 residential units being built. Single-detached homes accounted for 35% of total starts, just over half of which were in Surrey. Condo apartment starts accounted for 42% of total starts, most of which were located in Surrey, Vancouver City and North Vancouver. Year-to-date, total housing starts are up 94% compared to the same period last year.

Compared to April 2009, total housing starts have increased significantly across the board, in almost every city in the Vancouver CMA with the exception of Langley City which showed zero starts compared to 116 a year ago, and Richmond which had 44 starts compared to 53 in April 2009.

“This year, we are seeing an increase in rental units, some of which are laneway
housing,” noted Robyn Adamache, Senior Market Analyst at CMHC. Year-to-date, rental units as a share of new housing starts in the Vancouver CMA are about 9.3%, compared to just 3.3% a year ago. Laneway housing accounted for only 35 units of the total 415 new rental units being constructed, the majority of which were traditional multiple-unit rental buildings. For more on laneway housing see the City of Vancouver’s Eco-Density Website.

Provincial home starts in urban areas rose to 25,600 units, seasonally adjusted at
annual rates (SAAR) in April, from 22,000 in March. At the national level, total housing
starts reached 201,700 units SAAR in April from 199,200 units the prior month.
 

Download the full CMHC April 2010 Housing Starts Press Release>>