Hopefully everyone made it out just fine after our annual spring snowpocalypse; just feeling the thaw now.
Biggest headline this week: Calgary needs more housing!
The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) says more housing is needed across the whole country, especially in Calgary (no surprise there).
New home starts remained stable near all-time high levels (compared to last year), but Canadian cities are still experiencing a severe shortage. Demand for housing has grown significantly from an influx of immigration (and significant inter-provincial migration).
In 2023, Calgary's housing starts increased by 13% – 19,579 units. However, notably detached homes experienced only a 2% growth, while townhomes and apartments experienced a 34% and 17% growth, respectively.
However, just because housing starts remain at all-time highs, this doesn't mean completions are also there. The building industry has been plagued by rising costs, labour and material shortages have led to longer lead-times. This, ultimately leading various levels of government in Canada to announce housing initiatives (i.e., Calgary rezoning initiative).
To give a sense of the incredible population growth Alberta experienced in 2023, see below:
Source: Statistics Canada
Between January 1, 2023 and January 1, 2024 – Alberta added 202,324 residents (roughly the population of TWO RED DEERS, in 365 days). The only other record pace of annual population growth was seen in 1981!
Where are all these people coming from you may ask: 27% inter provincial migration, 73% international migrants.
Source: ATB Financial
The good news? Well, Alberta continues to lead the pack in attracting people who want to live and work here. There is a forecasted slowdown in population growth (so we can take a breather), but will still remain strong compared to the rest of Canada and other developed economies, driving further economic expansion and development in our province.
However, growing pains ARE pains, and getting to a balanced real estate market will take TIME – maybe a long time. All comes down to supply and demand.