Altus Group reports that investment in Metro Vancouver residential development sites topped $6 billion in 2016, up 116 per cent from a year earlier and accounting for half of overall real estate investment spending last year.
Industrial, commercial and institutional land sales lagged behind the residential tally, totalling just $2.2 billion despite impressive growth of 39 per cent. Together, residential and commercial land sales accounted for two-thirds of the $12.4 billion in investment sales across Metro Vancouver in 2016.
The investment in residential sites underpins Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s forecast of between 21,500 and 23,500 housing starts in Metro Vancouver in 2017. This follows a record 27,914 housing starts in 2016. Data to date is consistent with that forecast.
