BRITISH COLUMBIA – According to a recent report from the British Columbia Real Estate Association, Canadian housing starts fell by 4.0k (-1.6 per cent) to 246.2k units in March at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR).
Comparing year-over-year, starts were down from March of 2021 (-25.4 per cent y/y). Single-detached housing starts rose 7.1 per cent to 83.9k, while multi-family and others declined 5.6 per cent to 162.3k (SAAR).
In British Columbia, starts were down 6.7 per cent in March, falling to 32.6k units SAAR in all areas of the province. In areas in the province with 10,000 or more residents, single-detached starts rose 4.7 per cent m/m to 8.1k units while multi-family starts declined 11.7 per cent to 20.6k units.
Starts in the province were 54.1 per cent below the levels from March 2021. Starts were down by 2.9k units in Vancouver, 3.6k in Victoria, and 0.4k in Abbotsford, but rose 1.5k in Kelowna from last month.
The 6-month moving average trend declined 1.5 per cent to 39.6k in BC in March.
