Canadian housing starts dipped slightly in July, but remain elevated by historical standards. While housing starts decreased to 272.2k units (-3.2% m/m) in July at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR), on a year-over-year basis starts were still 11% above their July 2020 levels. Single-detached housing starts increased 7.1% from June, but this growth was not large enough to offset a 3.1% decline in multi-unit starts, resulting in an overall decline.

In British Columbia, starts declined 26% m/m to 50.7k units SAAR in all areas of the province. This drop was driven by declines in multi-unit starts in Metro Vancouver. Despite this volatility, starts in the province in July were still up 26% on a year-over-year basis. In terms of the six-month moving average, BC is at a record-high level of housing starts for a second consecutive month. In centres with at least 10,000 residents, single-detached starts were down 1%, while multi-unit starts were down 27% from last month. In Vancouver, housing starts were unchanged compared with July of 2020, while Victoria starts were up 72%, Kelowna was up 56%, and Abbotsford was up 2%.

https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-housing-starts-july-2021

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BCREA is the professional association for more than 23,000 REALTORS in BC, focusing on provincial issues that impact real estate. Working with the province’s 11 real estate boards, BCREA provides continuing professional education, advocacy, economic research, and standard forms to help REALTORS provide value for their clients.To demonstrate the profession's commitment to improving Quality of Life in BC communities, BCREA supports policies that help ensure economic vitality, provide housing opportunities, preserve the environment, protect property owners and build better communities with good schools and safe neighbourhoods.