CMHC reports new housing in January 2023 was up 62% vs the same month last year, from 286 to 463 units. However, 421 of those units were condo/apts and 71% of those were in one municipality – Langford. Sixty-nine per cent of all new housing was also in Langford. Many large multi-family projects were approved last year and based on pre-sales when mortgage rates were lower. Also, the costly process of developing subdivisions lacks the economy of scale offered by condo/apts.
Single detached homes were down 57% and missing middle housing (townhomes, duplexes) down 65%. Increasing mortgage rates, rising govt fees and taxes, and obstructive municipal approval processes have choked new home supply, especially A recent article in the Vancouver Sun says the BC govt’s Housing Plan is a contributing factor to a lack of supply and affordability – “the problem starts with the plan itself. It was heavily weighted toward measures to discourage demand, light on encouraging supply, particularly of market housing. The first 13 items were taxation measures of one kind or another.”
While the province has promised more efficient approval processes by municipalities, it seems little has changed in much of the CRD.