CMHC reports a 1% decrease in new residential construction from January to August vs last year. In 2021 there were 3,072 new homes vs this year’s 3,044.
In August 2021 there were 572 new homes vs this year’s 363. Government fees and regulations continue to increase along with rising prices in materials and labour, while affordability declines as the Bank of Canada boosts interest rates along with the mortgage stress test.
Langford leads in single detached as well as semi-detached and row housing also known as missing middle for young families.
Year-to-date, eight months into the year, there is zero new missing middle housing in Saanich, Oak Bay, Central Saanich, Highlands, Metchosin, North Saanich and only 6 in View Royal. There has been a total of only 8 new homes of any description started this year in View Royal.
This represents 50% of the municipalities in the CRD creating little or no new townhomes, etc during a housing crisis.
Often, the development approval process and costs for a small subdivision are similar to a large multi-family project, so municipalities actually discourage small projects suitable for families.
For more information on the housing challenges in many municipalities, read about their Housing Needs reports.