The number of home starts in Metro Vancouver so far in 2014 is up 3.2 per cent from last year, according to new statistics from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
"To date, actual housing starts totalled 17,494 units during 2014 and most of these were in the cities of Vancouver, Surrey and Richmond," said CMHC senior housing market analyst Robyn Adamache.
Richmond's starts have more than doubled from 1,117 in 2013 to 2,458 so far this year.
New home starts are up nearly 30 per cent in Langley Township, 26 per cent in Coquitlam and 16 per cent in Surrey, while starts have declined this year in Vancouver and Burnaby.
See interactive chart below for a breakdown of starts by municipality.
Surrey is also the city with the highest fees for builders of townhouses, according to a report released last week by the Greater Vancouver Home Builders Association.