Despite a dip in December, total housing starts in the Calgary region finished 2014 up 36.1 per cent from the previous year and hitting a record level.
According to data released Friday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., there were 17,131 starts in the Calgary area in 2014. Multi-family starts rose by 72.1 per cent to 10,637 units while single-detached starts were up by 1.4 per cent to 6,494.
In December, total starts of 840 were off by 6.3 per cent from December 2013 mostly due to a decline in multi-family of 14.1 per cent to 413 units. The single-detached market rose during the month by 2.9 per cent to 427 units.
The CMHC said housing starts in the Calgary area were trending at 15,544 units in December compared to 18,555 in November. The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally-adjusted annual rates of total housing starts.
In 2015, total starts are forecast to decline 16 per cent to 14,400 units with reductions expected in both the single-detached and multiples segments of the market.
Overall homebuilding activity continues to look well behaved in Canada. In Alberta, the slide in oil prices will likely cool activity notably in 2015.
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