It’s great to see Alberta shattered housing start records in the past year, but it doesn’t much matter if a whole swathe of new houses get built and no one can afford them anyway.
According to a report released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), in 2024 the province had 46,632 new homes under construction, which broke historic records. In the first half of 2024 there were also 9,903 new apartment unit starts. Not surprisingly the Calgary region represented well over half that housing growth, with 24,396 under construction in 2024.
However, cross-referencing all these new houses with other key stats tells a different story. According to the Calgary Housing Market Report on Wowa.ca, the average selling price of a home in Calgary increased by 4.5 per cent year-over-year to $572,400 in December 2024.
“Detached home average prices were $796,753, which shows 8.6 per cent yearly growth and a 1.4 per cent monthly increase," the report adds. "Semi-detached home average prices were $655,623, exhibiting 12 per cent annual growth ... The average townhouse price was $448,425, 7.2 per cent higher than December 2023 … Apartment average prices were $358,432, 14 per cent higher than December 2023.”
So we have more houses, but they also cost a heckuva a lot more. Weren’t all these housing starts supposed to decrease the pressure in the marketplace and help moderate prices?
If we have more homes, but fewer and fewer people can afford them, how does that position us as a province going forward?
Guess those 30-something kids will just continue to live in your basement, because home ownership seems to be a dream that is getting further and further out of reach.
