Canadian Housing Starts - July 10, 2012
BCREA
ECONOMICS NOW
Canadian
Housing Starts - July 10, 2012
Canadian housing starts
rose 2.4 per cent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 222,700
starts. New home construction in BC urban centres showed strong growth
for the second straight month, registering a robust 34,100 starts (SAAR) in
June, a gain of 31 per cent over May. On a year-over-year basis, BC
housing starts were 60 per cent higher than June 2011. BC Housing starts are 13
per cent higher through the first half of 2012, the result of an 18 per cent
increase in multi-family starts while single-family construction has been flat.
BC's strong new home construction was led by a jump in multi-family
construction in Vancouver which rose close to 70 per cent year-over-year in
June, including a near doubling of multi-family units compared to June 2011.
Single family starts, however, continue to moderate, falling 7 per cent
year-over-year. Abbotsford new home construction fell 21 per cent
year-over-year in June due to a 26 per cent dip in single-family starts and a 9
per cent decline in multi-family starts. Housing starts in Victoria rebounded
from a weak May as total starts rose 30 per cent year-over-year on balanced
growth between single and multi-family starts. Finally, new home construction
in Kelowna fell 15 per cent, largely due to weak multi-family starts.