KELOWNA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) says the pace of housing construction in the Kelowna Census Metropolitan Area picked up in July.
The agency estimates there were 1,978 projects started in July, which extrapolated out over six months gives a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,367 starts, up from 1,199 in June.
The growth in housing starts is concentrated around the multiple-family segment of the market according to Taylor Pardy, CMHC Senior Market Analyst.
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“While construction of single-detached units declined, multiple-family starts have increased compared with the same period in 2014,” says Pardy. “The majority of multiple-family starts have been condominiums, however, some new rental apartments have also started construction.”
CMHC says Vernon saw an increase in singles starts in July of 19 units compared to 14 a year earlier.
In the Kamloops area, July housing starts were relatively unchanged from last year’s figures. There were 32 units getting underway last month compared to 31 units a year ago.
CMHC says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts, or new construction in centres with populations of 10,000 or more people, was up 6.1 per cent.
“The pace of new home construction picked up since May, reflecting strength in the resale market” says Carol Frketich, CMHC Regional Economist for B.C. “Demand for new homes has matched supply, keeping inventories of completed and unabsorbed homes in check.”
The estimated number of urban housing starts in the province was 36,501 units in July compared to 34,870 units in June.
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