![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/jeriden-villegas-VLPUm5wP5Z0-unsplash.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: Jeriden Villegas<\/a> \/ Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nFollowing a record-setting year, British Columbia saw housing starts decline during the first month of 2022.<\/p>\n
According to the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA), province-wide housing starts fell to 39,400 units at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR) in January, representing a month-over-month decrease of 29.2 per cent.<\/p>\n
Overall, housing starts in the province were 33.7 per cent below the levels from January 2021.\u00a0Meanwhile, the six-month moving average trend dropped 4.4 per cent to 42,300.<\/p>\n
Tracking housing starts in areas of the province with 10,000 or more residents, the BCREA found that single-detached starts dropped 23.4 per cent month-over-month to\u00a07,200\u00a0units, while multi-family starts decreased 33.4 per cent to 28,200 units.<\/p>\n
\u201cIncreased housing supply is sorely needed all over the province, which is experiencing an historic drought in terms of the availability of homes,\u201d said the BCREA in its 2022 housing forecast. \u201cA record year of housing starts means a continued pipeline of residential investment that will keep employment in the construction sector robust.\u201d<\/p>\n
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While housing demand remains high and the employment outlook is increasingly optimistic, labour shortages in B.C.\u2019s construction industry threaten to slow the province\u2019s pace, as pandemic-related job losses in other sectors haven\u2019t funneled workers into construction roles.<\/p>\n