Last year in Vancouver saw the highest housing starts in over 40 years.
The city saw 6,071 housing starts in 2013, 573 more than in 2012. It was the highest number of housing starts recorded since 1969.
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson says City Hall initiatives to cut red tape and push for more rental housing are working.
“Vancouver has had a remarkable economic rebound in recent years, with housing starts at their highest in nearly a half century and building permit values exceeding pre-recession levels,” says Robertson. “City Hall’s work to cut red tape, keep taxes low and speed up permit processing times is helping create thousands of new Vancouver jobs and build urgently-needed new housing, including back-to-back record years for new rental housing in both 2012 and 2013.”
Vancouver accounted for 32 per cent of all housing starts in Metro Vancouver.
Robertson says the city is working to cut processing times for single-family home applications from 15-18 weeks, down to 6-8 weeks.
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