Over 6,700 rental homes began construction in Metro Vancouver in 2019: CMHC

Of the 28,141 housing starts recorded in Metro Vancouver in 2019, a total of 6,727 units were intended for the rental market, according to new preliminary data released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Nine in 10 of these rental housing starts were apartments.

With 2,716 units beginning construction last year, Vancouver accounted for 40% of the region’s starts for the year. Surrey and Burnaby trailed behind at 805 units (12%) and 509 units (7.6%), respectively.

• See also:
  • Metro Vancouver saw a record number of housing starts in 2019: CMHC
  • Vancouver city council’s voting record on market rental housing at the end of 2019
  • City of Vancouver admits it’s falling behind in building rental housing
  • City report finds developer incentives to build rental housing are working

Both North Vancouver municipalities had housing start numbers that contrasted greatly; North Vancouver City, despite being a smaller municipality, had 451 rental housing starts, while its larger counterpart, North Vancouver District, only had 51 starts — fewer than West Vancouver’s starts of 250.

On the flip side, Langley District recorded 243 starts, while Langley City had zero.

New Westminster saw major numbers over previous years, but in 2019 it only had 51 starts — a figure also achieved by White Rock.

UBC and the University Endowment Lands, counted separately from Vancouver, recorded 179 starts.

As for the Tri-Cities, Coquitlam saw 481 starts, Port Moody saw 378, and Port Coquitlam saw 68.

Most of these new units will reach completion within one to two years, providing much-needed supply to quell the high regional rental vacancy rate hovering at 1%.

Top municipalities with the most rental housing starts in 2019

1. Vancouver: 2,716

• Single-family dwellings: 563
• Semi-detached dwellings: 0
• Rowhouses: 0
• Apartments: 2,153

2. Surrey: 805

• Single-family dwellings: 4
• Semi-detached dwellings: 0
• Rowhouses: 0
• Apartments: 801

3. Burnaby: 509

• Single-family dwellings: 0
• Semi-detached dwellings: 0
• Rowhouses: 0
• Apartments: 509

4. Coquitlam: 481

• Single-family dwellings: 14
• Semi-detached dwellings: 0
• Rowhouses: 0
• Apartments: 467

5. North Vancouver City: 451

• Single-family dwellings: 12
• Semi-detached dwellings: 0
• Rowhouses: 0
• Apartments: 439

6. Port Moody: 378

• Single-family dwellings: 1
• Semi-detached dwellings: 0
• Rowhouses: 0
• Apartments: 377

6. Richmond: 260

• Single-family dwellings: 4
• Semi-detached dwellings: 0
• Rowhouses: 0
• Apartments: 256

7. West Vancouver: 250

• Single-family dwellings: 1
• Semi-detached dwellings: 0
• Rowhouses: 0
• Apartments: 249

8. Langley Township: 243

• Single-family dwellings: 28
• Semi-detached dwellings: 0
• Rowhouses: 12
• Apartments: 203

8. UBC/University Endowment Lands: 179

• Single-family dwellings: 0
• Semi-detached dwellings: 0
• Rowhouses: 0
• Apartments: 179

9. Maple Ridge: 143

• Single-family dwellings: 7
• Semi-detached dwellings: 0
• Rowhouses: 0
• Apartments: 136

10. Delta: 94

• Single-family dwellings: 0
• Semi-detached dwellings: 0
• Rowhouses: 0
• Apartments: 94

11. Port Coquitlam: 68

• Single-family dwellings: 4
• Semi-detached dwellings: 0
• Rowhouses: 0
• Apartments: 64

12. New Westminster: 51

• Single-family dwellings: 8
• Semi-detached dwellings: 0
• Rowhouses: 0
• Apartments: 43

13. White Rock: 51

• Single-family dwellings: 0
• Semi-detached dwellings: 0
• Rowhouses: 0
• Apartments: 51