Housing starts in the Calgary Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were higher in September, boosted by the start of construction of new multi-family units.
According to the Canada Mortgage Housing Corp. (CMHC), construction started for 1,205 new homes in September, compared to 742 units the previous month. Year-to-date starts though remain slower, reflecting a 30 per cent drop from 9,831 in the first nine months of 2015 to 6,898 in the comparable period this year.
“Compared to last month, overall housing starts picked up pace in September, particularly as construction of several multi-unit condo projects began recently,” says Richard Cho, CMHC Principal Market Analyst for Calgary. “This increase notwithstanding, housing starts remain below historical averages for Calgary due to elevated new home inventories and weaker economic conditions.”