New homes started, last 12 months

The change is 17.0% of the earlier value, at or above the 5% threshold.

A higher number means builders began construction on more new homes. 4,060 homes in the 12 months to September 2026 compared with 4,890 in the 12 months to September 2025 (-17.0%).

Outcome measures read Better, Worse or About the same; published government targets read Ahead of, On or Behind target; value-judgement measures read Rising, Falling or Steady in a neutral colour. A change smaller than the agency's own margin of error, or otherwise smaller than 5% of the earlier value, is About the same (or Steady). No change is calculated across a marked break in a series. The rule.

Why it matters. More homes being built adds to supply over time, which matters for both rents and prices.

• A start is when construction begins on a new home (the foundation is in place). It is not a completion and does not show whether homes are affordable.
• Monthly counts swing a lot, because one large building can add hundreds of homes in a single month, so this page adds up 12 months. The 12-month total is calculated here from CMHC's monthly counts.
• Counts include all home types (houses, row homes, apartments and condominiums, and purpose-built rentals).
• The area is the Victoria census metropolitan area, which is larger than the City of Victoria. Geographic definitions are updated every five years, so historical comparisons are not exact.
• Longer views (10 years and more) show one total per calendar year, January to December, added up here from the same monthly counts, back to 1972, the first year in the table. The 5-year view shows the 12-month total to each month. Statistics Canada notes that the area is redrawn every five years to follow the latest census, so years far apart are not strictly comparable.

Area: Greater Victoria (CMA)

Statistics Canada’s Victoria metropolitan area: 13 municipalities plus nearby electoral-area and reserve lands.

Included

• Victoria
• Saanich
• Oak Bay
• Esquimalt
• View Royal
• Langford
• Colwood
• Highlands
• Metchosin
• Sooke
• Central Saanich
• North Saanich
• Sidney
• Juan de Fuca electoral area, part 1 (for example East Sooke, Jordan River and Shirley)
• First Nations reserves: Cole Bay 3, Union Bay 4, East Saanich 2, South Saanich 1, Becher Bay 1, Esquimalt, New Songhees 1A and T'Sou-ke

Not included

• Salt Spring Island
• Southern Gulf Islands (Galiano, Mayne, Pender and Saturna islands)
• Port Renfrew area (Juan de Fuca electoral area, part 2)

Official definition

• Statistics Canada: Victoria census metropolitan area (CMA 935), 2021 definition

How the agency describes it: Victoria census metropolitan area (Greater Victoria).

This number is published by the agency as shown; it is not calculated here. The script reads it from the agency’s own file.

Published under an open licence: anyone may reuse it with credit. About licences.

Published by

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Starts and Completions Survey, published by Statistics Canada

Licence

CMHC Licence Agreement for the Use of Data; also listed as Open Government Licence - Canada

Updated by agency

Monthly; latest release Oct 19, 2026

Retrieved

Nov 11, 2026, 6:29 PM B.C. time

The open.canada.ca record lists this table under the Open Government Licence - Canada; the Statistics Canada table footnote says CMHC's licence governs. Both allow free reuse with attribution.

Adapted from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Starts and Completions Survey (housing starts, all unit types), 12 months to September 2026. This does not constitute an endorsement by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation of this product. Adapted from Statistics Canada, table 34-10-0154-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.