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Victoria vs. Vancouver: construction market comparison

How residential construction in Victoria and Vancouver differs on activity, growth, mix and cost, using population-normalized official data.

Trailing 12 months ending June 2026

What separates these markets

  • Housing-start intensity is similar: Victoria 9.87 and Vancouver 8.72 starts per 1,000 residents.
  • Starts are moving in opposite directions: Vancouver +1.2% and Victoria −4.9% versus the prior 12 months.
  • Residential construction prices rose faster in Victoria (+6.3%) than in Vancouver (+1.7%).

Generated from the values in the tables below using fixed, symmetric rules. Descriptive only — not a forecast.

Activity and intensity

Activity and intensity: Victoria and Vancouver
MetricVictoriaVancouver
Housing starts per 1,000 residents Higher value is 1.13× the lower9.878.72
Housing starts, trailing 12 months 4,39226,935
Housing completions per 1,000 residents Higher value is 1.09× the lower8.799.54
Units under construction per 1,000 residents 20.2519.40
Pending starts per 1,000 residents Higher value is 2.91× the lower3.9111.36
Dwelling units authorized per 1,000 residents 8.758.78

Growth (latest 12 months vs. prior 12 months)

Growth (latest 12 months vs. prior 12 months): Victoria and Vancouver
MetricVictoriaVancouver
Housing starts, change vs prior 12 months −4.9%+1.2%
Completions, change vs prior 12 months +7.3%+2.3%
Residential permit value growth (nominal) −14.3%−5.8%
Residential permit value growth (constant dollars) −15.9%−7.5%
Single-dwelling permit value growth (constant dollars) −1.0%−12.3%
Multiple-dwelling permit value growth (constant dollars) −17.9%−7.1%
Residential investment growth (nominal) +4.8%+10.6%
Residential investment growth (constant dollars) +3.0%+8.6%

Market mix

Market mix: Victoria and Vancouver
MetricVictoriaVancouver
Renovation share of residential investment 37.9%28.5%
Alterations share of residential permit value 8.0%4.9%
Single-detached share of housing starts 7.4%7.9%
Apartment share of housing starts 79.9%78.6%
Rental share of housing starts 66.6%42.4%

Construction cost

Construction cost: Victoria and Vancouver
MetricVictoriaVancouver
Residential construction price growth +6.3%+1.7%

Size

Size: Victoria and Vancouver
MetricVictoriaVancouver
Population 445,0903,088,036

Nominal growth includes construction-price change; constant-dollar growth is Statistics Canada’s price-adjusted series. Values not published for a market read “Not published”.

Sources and data period

Figures cover the trailing 12 months ending June 2026, the latest period published for all 16 markets. Source data retrieved through September 12, 2026. This page was built on November 8, 2026; the build date is not the data period. Values not published by the source are shown as “Not published”, never estimated.

Methodology, definitions and limitations

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    Construction Market Intelligence

    An independent publication built from official Statistics Canada and CMHC data. Current data: trailing 12 months ending June 2026.

    Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Statistics Canada or CMHC.