VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to BC Check-Up: Invest, an annual report by the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) on investment trends across the province, 28,922 housing units began construction in Southwest B.C. in 2021, a 17.7 per cent increase compared to 2020.
“After years of increasing housing starts in Southwest B.C., the uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a significant slowdown in residential investment in 2020,” said Lori Mathison, FCPA, FCGA, LLB, president and CEO of CPABC. “However, rapidly rising prices and growing demand for housing has led to a significant recovery in housing starts in 2021, albeit still below the record set in 2019.”
The number of housing units started in 2021 was the second highest number in Southwest B.C.’s history, 8.9 per cent below the record in set 2019, at nearly 32,000. Last year’s increase was primarily driven by strong growth in the number of attached units started, such as condos, apartments, and townhomes.
The 24,159 attached starts in 2021 accounted for 83.5 per cent of all units started and was an increase of 20.5 per cent compared to 2020. In contrast, there were 4,763 detached units started in 2021, up by 5.4 per cent compared to 2020.
“The rebound in attached starts indicated that developers were once again seeing value in investing in high-rise projects across the region,” continued Mathison. “This is a significant change from 2020, when detached starts remained more stable than attached. It is also a result of the construction that has recently started on major projects, which include some significant residential developments.”
More broadly, the inventory of major projects increased to $101.4 billion in Q3 2021, up by 20.0 per cent compared to Q3 2020. Over that period, there were 63 new projects proposed, the largest of which was the Surrey Langley SkyTrain extension with an estimated cost of $4.0 billion.
Of the total, $43.1 billion worth of projects were under construction across Southwest B.C. in Q3 2021, an increase of 41.9 per cent compared to Q3 2020. The five largest projects started over the period were:
1) Lougheed Town Centre Redevelopment, $7.0 billion
2) Broadway Subway Project, $2.8 billion
3) St. Paul’s Hospital Replacement, $2.2 billion
4) Oakridge Centre Redevelopment, $1.5 billion
5) Burnaby Hospital Renewal, $1.4 billion
“Southwest B.C. saw the strongest growth in major project activity across the province, driven by a mix of private and public investments. Collectively, the five largest projects that began construction in 2021 will bring $14.9 billion direct economic activity to the region,” concluded Mathison. “This capital investment will better connect our region, bring jobs and business activity, boost housing supply, and improve services available to residents in the region.”
To learn more, see www.bccheckup.com.
About CPA British Columbia
The Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) is the training, governing, and regulatory body for over 38,000 CPA members and 6,000 CPA students. CPABC carries out its primary mission to protect the public by enforcing the highest professional and ethical standards and contributing to the advancement of public policy. CPAs are recognized internationally for bringing superior financial expertise, strategic thinking, business insight, and leadership to organizations.
