BRITISH COLUMBIA – Canadian housing starts rose by 18.1k (7.9 per cent) to 247.3k units in February at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR). Comparing year-over-year, starts were down from February of 2021 (7.4 per cent y/y). Single-detached housing starts were largely unchanged from January at 78.1k, while multi-family and others rose 12 per cent to 169.2k (SAAR).
In British Columbia, starts were down 10.1 per cent in February, falling to 35.5k units SAAR in all areas of the province. In areas in the province with 10,000 or more residents, single-detached starts rose 3.1 per cent m/m to 7.4k units while multi-family starts declined 15.1 per cent to 23.9k units. Starts in the province were 21.9 per cent below the levels from February 2021. Starts were down by 5.1k units in Vancouver, 0.5k in Kelowna, and 0.6k in Abbotsford, but rose 1.5k in Victoria from last month. The 6-month moving average trend declined 4.5 per cent to 40.4k in BC in February.
