Calgary, March 8, 2010 – According to preliminary figures released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), total housing starts in the Calgary Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) reached 743 units in February 2010, up substantially from 206 units in the previous year. February’s construction activity brings year-to-date housing starts to 1,257 units, up from 449 units in 2009.

 Single-detached builders poured foundations for 545 units in February, nearly three times higher compared to the 184 units started in February 2009. “The year-over-year rise in production was a bit pronounced as housing starts in the beginning of 2009 were unusually low due to elevated inventories and uncertain economic conditions,” said Richard Cho, CMHC’s Senior Market Analyst for Calgary. “With the economy stabilizing, new construction activity is returning to more historical norms with February’s numbers slightly above the ten-year average of 535 units,” he added. After the first two months of the year, there were 958 units that broke ground, up from the 388 units in 2009.

Multi-family starts, which include semi-detached, row and apartment units, totalled 198 units in February compared to 22 starts in the previous year. “As was the case in 2009, multi-family construction continues to be dominated by semi-detached and row units,” noted Cho. “These types of units have been popular, especially among first-time home buyers, as low mortgage rates contribute to home affordability,” he added. To the end of February, 299 multi-family units were started, up from the 61 units in the same month in 2009.

In Alberta’s seven largest centres, there were a total of 1,562 units started in February, compared to 574 units a year earlier. For census agglomerations, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Red Deer all reported impressive year-over-year gains in total housing starts last month.

 As Canada’s national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable homes. CMHC also provides reliable, impartial and up-to-date housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making vital decisions. For more information, visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642.

 CMHC Market Analysis standard reports are also available free for download at

http://www.cmhc.ca/housingmarketinformation.

Source: CMHC

Tara Borle

Mobile Mortgage Specialist

Tara.borle@td.com