File photo.
The pace of condominiums and apartments going up in Greater Victoria shows no signs of slowing down as figures for February housing starts have been released.
A Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) report show 311 housing starts last month around the capital, compared to 210 in February of 2017.
Almost 84 per cent of new starts in February are multi-residential complexes which made up 261 of the new starts.
That is more than double the number of starts for multi-unit homes in the same month last year.
So far in 2018, there have been 306 new builds for condos and apartments compared to 238 in 2017.
Much of the activity is in Saanich and Langford.
CMHC reported 130 multiples started in Saanich last month and 102 began going up in Langford.
North Saanich had the next highest figure at 19 in the month.
Langford also led the way with 14 single-detached starts in February.
Single-detached starts were down in February compared to the same month last year and are slower for year-to-date figures than in 2017 by 28.5 per cent.
“Demand for multi-unit housing of all types remains high in the Victoria area as inventories of unsold units and rental vacancies remain low,” CMHC’s senior market analyst for Vancouver Island Braden Batch said.
HOUSING STARTS DOWN IN NANAIMO
The trend of housing starts dipped for both February and for the year in Nanaimo.
CMHC reports 45 dwelling starts last month, with 25 of those being single-detached homes.
There were 62 starts for the same month last year.
Year to date numbers shows housing starts are at 79, just 38 per cent less than last year’s pace of 128 through two months.
COURTENAY FEBRUARY HOUSING STARTS DOWN COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, BUT ARE UP IN 2018
Meanwhile, in Courtenay, February housing starts were down compared to the year before.
Row townhouses made up 17 of the 31 starts last month, a slower pace than the 38 starts in February 2017.
There were still more starts last month compared to the 28 in January, and this year’s 59 starts through 2 months are ahead of last year’s pace of 47.
Andy Neal
