Though the average of Greater Victoria single detached housing starts has decreased over September, close to 2,500 rental units are currently under construction across the region.
The data, from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, found 56 per cent of housing starts in the region are rentals, compared to 23 per cent that are condos and 22 per cent that are considered homeowners.
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“A number of large apartment units were recently initiated, and units under construction are at record highs as there is strong demand for relatively affordable units in the city,” said CMHC senior analyst Braden Batch, who focuses on Vancouver Island.
More than 1,651 units are currently being built in Colwood, Langford, Sooke and View Royal – the fastest growing communities in the region.
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But the numbers dip significantly below those of September 2017. Among single-detached starts, the number rose to 73 from 62, but just 190 multiple-family dwellings were initiated, compared to 538 the year previous.
That totalled 263 housing starts for the whole of 2018, compared to 600 in 2017.
“Housings starts trended lower in Metro Victoria, however year-to-date totals remained higher than in 2017,” Batch said.
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Nationally, housing starts saw 207,768 units in September 2018, compared to 213,966 units in August 2018, according to CMHC.
Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC said the national trend follows declines in four of the last five months.
“The slowdown in the pace of new residential construction activity in recent months is a result of both lower single-detached and multi-starts activity and brings new residential construction closer to its long run average from the elevated levels registered in 2017,” Dugan said.
