New home construction is up significantly so far this year in both Metro Vancouver and the Abbotsford area.
Metro Vancouver has recorded 17,325 home starts for 2015 up to the end of October, according to statistics released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
That’s a nine per cent increase from the same 10 months of 2014.
“Everything is as good as we’ve seen it since 2008,” said Bob de Wit, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association. “We’re just building as fast as we can.”
Abbotsford has seen a 70 per cent jump, with 564 new units started compared to 333 to the same point in 2014, mainly due to a doubling in single detached house starts.
The new construction in Metro Vancouver was dominated by the 13,416 multi-family units – those condos and townhouses account for more than three quarters of this year’s activity.
But de Wit said all types of construction have been strong, crediting the growing economy, steady growth in household formation and housing demand from buyers that has outstripped the supply on the market.
Within Metro, Surrey has recorded 4,035 starts, followed by Vancouver at 3,807 and Richmond at 2,041. Surrey saw a big jump in multi-family starts, and they were also up significantly in Delta, North Vancouver City and Burnaby.
