Vancouver sees big dip in construction of new homes in May

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The construction of new homes fell drastically last month in Vancouver and the province compared to the previous year, according to a new BCREA report on housing starts in Canada.

In BC this May, housing starts fell by 33% compared to May the previous year, resulting in 40,536 units around the province.

The BCREA report adds that in areas of the province with 10,000 residents or more, single-detached starts rose by 7% to 6,207 units, while multi-family starts fell by a whopping 39% to 32,010 units.

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Regionally, in Vancouver, the construction of new homes fell by over 22,000.

Despite the drop in May, year-to-date, Vancouver is ahead of last year’s housing starts.

BCREA housing starts rose by 0.6k in Victoria, 0.6k in Kelowna, and 1.7k in Abbotsford.

“The 6-month moving average trend fell 2.6 per cent to 49.9k in BC in November,” the BCREA states.

BCREA

The numbers reflecting the drop in housing starts in BC also indicate a trend that took place nationwide last month.

Construction of new homes across Canada, not just BC, fell by 23% to 202,494 units.

“Starts were down 28 per cent from the same month last year. Single-detached housing starts rose 3 per cent to 55,967 units, while multi-family and others fell 29 per cent to 146,528,” the BCREA adds.