Calgary leads Alberta housing boom, but supply still struggling to meet demand: CMHC

New numbers show housing growth in Alberta's two major cities is outpacing other Canadian municipalities, but it's still not enough to keep up with a population surge. 

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) says new home construction in Calgary saw a 38 per cent increase in the first half of 2024, driven by multi-unit housing developments.

That's tops in the country. 

Apartment starts also ticked up in the city, likely to accommodate low-housing inventory and wide-scale demand for more affordable options.

But the building can only happen so fast. 

When adjusted for population, roughly 62 units were started per 10,000 Calgarians in the first half of the year. That meant activity was around the historical average and not enough to reduce the existing supply gap and improve affordability, according to the corp. 

"We probably need to double the housing starts on an annual basis (nationwide)," CMHC deputy chief economist Aled ab Iorwerth said.

"Clearly we're producing more, but nowhere near enough."

Alberta's population stood at 4,890,000 as of July, up 46,200 in the second quarter. 

Over the last year, more than 200,000 people have been added to the province. 

That's a growth rate of 4.4 per cent.

The CMHC report shows municipal policies and incentive programs has significantly boosted office-to-residential conversions and secondary suites this year. 

Those accounted for about 28 per cent of rental apartment starts in the first half of 2024.

- With files from the Canadian Press