Aug 16, 2010, Conference Board gives Calgary housing market long-term thumbs up

Short-term and long-term expectations for housing starts in the Calgary census metropolitan region are positive, according to a report released today by the Conference Board of Canada.

In its monthly report, the conference board said most CMA’s across the country have positive expectations for housing starts in the near future.

Joining Calgary on that list are Halifax, Oshawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Windsor, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria and Abbotsford.

The board said its short-term expectations are based on residential permits data while its long-term expectations are based on demographic requirements.

According to data released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. recently, in July there were 602 starts in the Calgary region for single-family homes, up 20 per cent from the same period in 2009 and a 92 per cent year-over-year jump for the first seven months.

Multi-family starts were also up, with 564 last month — a 122 per cent jump over July 2009 and an increase of 169 per cent year-to-date.

Those were slightly above the June numbers.

By Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald