indicatorThe Owl

Housing starts going strong in Alberta

Year-to-date starts were 41.9% higher than over the same period last year

By Rob Roach, ATB Economics 19 August 2021 1 min read

After decreasing in June, the number of seasonally adjusted housing starts* in Alberta increased by 6.7% in July.

Also encouraging is the fact that the average number of starts over the first seven months of 2021 is the highest it has been since 2015.

Year-to-date starts were 41.9% higher than over the same period last year and 24.8% higher than in 2019.

Starts in Calgary jumped by 23.8% in July, but pulled back by 8.7% in Edmonton.

Despite the monthly decline in Edmonton, starts were well above both 2020 (14.6%) and 2019 (14.5%) on a year-to-date basis. In Calgary, starts were 73.4% higher during the first seven months of 2021 than over the same period in 2020 and 53.6% higher than in 2019.

Nationally, housing starts declined by 3.2% in July but were 41.2% higher on a year-to-date basis compared to 2020.

*A housing start is defined as the beginning of construction work on a building, usually when the concrete has been poured for the whole of the footing around the structure, or an equivalent stage where a basement will not be part of the structure.

Answer to the previous trivia question: The official national currency of Denmark is called the krone.

Today’s trivia question: What year was the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (nee Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation) created?

After decreasing in June, the number of seasonally adjusted housing starts in Alberta increased by 6.7% in July

After decreasing in June, the number of seasonally adjusted housing starts in Alberta increased by 6.7% in July


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