New housing starts in Alberta over the first 10 months of 2020 are 11.2 per cent below the same period last year.

At the same time, investment in residential building construction was up by 0.7 per cent over the first 10 months of 2020.

Does this mean that fewer, but more expensive, homes are being built in 2020?

The short answer is no.

Investment in new housing was down by 5.2 per cent ($302 million) over the first 10 months of the year whereas investment in renovations was up by 6.5 per cent ($320 million).

When it comes to the type of housing under construction, the single dwelling category was down by 1.1 per cent ($78 million) over the first 10 months of 2020 while multiple dwelling construction was up by 3.6 per cent ($161 million).

ANSWER to Wednesday’s trivia question: When was the last time the Bank of Canada’s policy interest rate was above 10 per cent? The rate was 10.6 per cent in January 1991.

Today’s question: What is considered to be the world’s most valuable residence?