Housing starts* in Alberta increased by 13 per cent in April compared to March and were 39 per cent higher than in April 2020. This was the best April for housing starts in the province since 2014.

(The housing starts data in today’s Owl have been adjusted for seasonal variation and are expressed as annual rates.)

Housing starts over the first four months of 2021 were 24 per cent higher than over the same period last year and were 32 per cent above where they were at the same point in 2019.

The increase suggests that home builders are confident that demand for new homes will rise in 2021 as the economic recovery continues, the Bank of Canada’s trendsetting policy interest rate stays low and the resale market remains hot.

* A housing start is defined as the beginning of construction work on the building where the dwelling unit will be located.

Answer to the previous trivia question: The highest annual average increase in the Consumer Price Index for Canada (+17.9 per cent) was recorded in 1917.

Today’s trivia question: In what year did the number of housing starts in Alberta peak?