Number of units being built year-to-date more than 10 per cent higher than 2011

Construction is going strong in Metro Vancouver, even though home resale prices are dropping slightly and sales activity is significantly below historical levels.

Metro Vancouver housing starts in were on pace in September to reach 20,000 units by year’s end, mostly driven by multi-family developments, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported Tuesday.

There were 293 single-detached housing starts and 1,423 multi-family housing starts in September 2012 — numbers similar to last year’s. Year-to-date, total starts have reached 14,828 units, compared to 13,260 for the same time period last year, CMHC reported.

“Full-time employment gains have supported housing demand so far in 2012,” said Robyn Adamache, CMHC’s senior market analyst for Vancouver. Continuing low mortgage rates and population growth are also keeping the numbers high, although global economic uncertainty is tempering the agency’s projections for 2013, when they expect housing starts to remain flat.

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