Canadian housing starts began the year essentially flat on a monthly basis at 216,210 units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR).  The six-month trend in Canadian housing starts remained elevated at 224,865 units SAAR.

BC saw total housing starts fall 16 per cent to 41,648 units SAAR in December on a monthly basis. However, total starts in BC were up 59 per cent year-over-year. Single detached starts were up 1 per cent on a monthly basis but increased 78 per cent compared to January 2017 while multiple starts were down 21 per cent month-over-month and were 54 per cent higher year-over-year.

Looking at census metropolitan areas (CMA) in BC: 

• Total starts in the Vancouver CMA were higher across all home types, nearly doubling the pace of construction in January 2017. There were a total of 2,599 housing starts across the region compared to just 1,334 the same time last year.

• In the Victoria CMA, housing starts slowed from the record setting pace of previous months, falling 52 per cent on a monthly basis. However, new home construction remains robust at a more than 3,000 unit annual rate in seasonally adjusted terms.

• The Kelowna CMA saw an increase from 51 units last January to 87 total starts in January 2018. Much of the increase was the result of new rental unit projects.

• Housing starts in the Abbotsford-Mission CMA rose 42 per cent on a monthly basis in January with balanced growth across multiple and single detached starts.  However, total housing starts were well behind the pace set in January of 2017.