Housing starts in city jump 37 per cent year-over-year
Alberta new-home starts reached 1,946 units in centres with 10,000plus population, a decline of 5.5 per cent, year over year, in April.
This compares to a national decline of 29.7 per cent over the same time period, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
The only housing category to show year-over-year growth in starts in Alberta was semi-detached homes, with a 14-per-cent increase, with single-family homes experiencing the largest decrease at 10.3 per cent.
The province’s two largest cities had the vast majority of starts at 1,765, but it was a tale of two vastly different cities, with the apartment sectors in each emerging as the subplot.
Edmonton had a 37-per-cent year-over-year increase, while Calgary’s total in April was down 40 per cent from April 2019.
“Housing starts in the Edmonton CMA increased 36.9 per cent on a year-over-year basis in April, following strong gains in apartment starts,” says Goodson Mwale, senior analyst for CMHC. “As these units reach completion, there may be additional pressure on inventories, which remain elevated compared to historical levels. Total housing starts in the Calgary CMA trended lower in April from the previous month after builders slowed the pace of row and apartment starts.”
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the starts trend for Edmonton in April was 14,372 units, down from 15,740 in March.
Nationally, the trend was 155,995 units, up from 153,463 in March, which excludes Quebec.
“CMHC’S monthly Starts and Completions Survey (SCS) for April was conducted in each province with the exception of Quebec, following the introduction of pandemic measures in the province in late March. Residential construction in Quebec resumed on April 20 and we will resume the SCS in Quebec in May,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’S chief economist. “Outside of Quebec, the national trend in housing starts increased in April, despite the impact of COVID-19 containment measures. This reflects strong growth in multi-family starts in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. We expect these provinces to register declines in the near term.”
CMHC uses the trend measure as a complement to the monthly SAAR of housing starts to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and obtain a more complete picture of Canada’s housing market.