Calgary Housing Starts Went down in July

Housing starts in the Calgary area went down a bit last month according to new statistics released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. This was due to a dip in the multi-family housing sector. Starts are recorded for the metropolitan census area in Calgary every month and are an overall indication of the health of the housing market in the city.

Starts in the area decreased 2.2% in July compared to the 1,354 starts that were recorded last year. Starts for multi-family dwellings went down to 686 units, which was a 16.6% decline. At the same time, however, the starts for single detached units went up to 668, which was a 16.8% rise.

Even though the total starts slightly dipped during July when compared to the numbers in June, the starts still remained elevated overall. This is due to an overwhelming demand for single-family homes in the city, positive job growth and a low inventory for homes. The six-month trend for starts in 2014 was healthy at 18,330 while the trend was at 18,695 in June.

Across Canada, housing starts went up 0.7% in July to 200,098 units. Even though it was expected that housing starts would see a gradual cooling in July, the statistics prove this to be unfounded. Starts in Canada were actually at the highest level since back in October 2013. On a year-to-date basis, the starts were slightly higher than what they were in 2013.

It's expected that new home construction on a national level will start on a moderating trend during the last six months of this year due to pressures with housing affordability. We'll have to wait until September to see the August statistics to find out if this moderating trend starts to kick in.