There were some positive signs for multi-family home construction in Alberta in August – particularly for the major centres of Calgary and Edmonton.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. released housing starts data on Tuesday showing huge increases in both census metropolitan areas for new home construction.
In Calgary, the all other starts besides single-detached category rose by 65 per cent year over year to 693 units, while the increase in Edmonton was 150 per cent to 971 units. Across Alberta in centres of more than 10,000 population, the overall increase was 86 per cent to 1,772 units.
The single-detached market saw a hike of four per cent year over year in Calgary to 403 units while in Edmonton it fell by 27 per cent to 415 units. In Alberta, it was down 18 per cent to 1014 units.
According to the CMHC, the trend in Canadian housing starts was 214,598 units in August 2018, compared to 219,656 units in July 2018. The measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally-adjusted annual rates of housing starts.
Bob Dugan
CMHC chief economist
“The national trend in housing starts continued to decline in August from the historical peak that was recorded in March 2018,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist. “This moderation brings total starts closer to historical averages, largely reflecting recent declines in the trend of multi-unit starts from historically elevated levels earlier in the year.”
Robert Kavcic, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, said Alberta continues to bounce around in the 25,000 to 30,000 range for an annual trend, hitting the top end in August.
“That’s still about 10,000 below the run rate seen through mid-2014, consistent with a stabilized economy and more subdued population flows than before the oil shock,” he said.
“Despite two monthly declines, robust levels of residential construction continue in Canada, with a 27-year high for population growth supporting the strength. While not all regions of the country have experienced the same price pressures as Toronto and Vancouver, many are seeing heightened building activity.”
Mario Toneguzzi is a veteran Calgary-based journalist who worked for 35 years for the Calgary Herald, including 12 years as a senior business writer.
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