Residential construction has been one of the big economic stories in Alberta for some time now as builders seek to meet the demand created by the addition of almost 341,000 new residents over the last two years.

Housing starts (we’ll get an update on these next week) are on track for a record-setting year, but new building permit data released this morning point to a slower pace going forward.

The value of residential permits* in the third quarter (Jul-Sep) was the lowest so far in 2025 and 2% lower than the same quarter last year. The number of dwelling units that will be created by the permits issued in Q3 2025 was also down by 2% compared to Q3 2024.  

The overall numbers, however, obscure differences across the type of construction and by urban area.

The value of permits for single-family units was 13% lower than in Q3 2024 with the number of units to be created down by 11% while multi-family permits were 10% higher in value and 2% higher in terms of the number of units to be created.

There was, however, some slippage in the multi-family category compared to the first half of 2025, with both permit value and the number of units to be created lower in Q3 than earlier in the year.

There are also differences between Alberta’s two largest urban centres. Single-family permit value and units to be created were down in both centres in Q3 compared to 2024, but more so in Calgary. Multi-family permit value and units to be created, meanwhile, were up sharply in Edmonton versus only a small increase in value and a drop in units to be created in Calgary (see the chart below).

With population growth slowing and the recent spurt of new builds adding substantially to Alberta’s housing inventory, the overall pace of residential construction is expected to ease next year.

*All permit data in today’s Twenty-Four are on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

Answer to the previous trivia question: Remembrance Day is held on November 11 because it is the anniversary of the Armistice agreement of 1918 that ended the First World War.

Today’s trivia question: What banking innovation was introduced by the Exchange National Bank of Chicago on November 12, 1946?