Calgary's record housing starts fall short of restoring pre-pandemic affordability: CMHC

Karina Zapata · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 20, 2025 1:47 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Calgary is breaking records erstwhile it comes to gathering caller homes, but a caller study says the metropolis is inactive a agelong way from returning to pre-pandemic affordability levels.

To reconstruct affordability to what it was earlier COVID-19 hit, Calgary needs to physique 45 per cent much caller homes each twelvemonth — connected apical of what's already being built, according to the study by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

The report looks into lodging gaps crossed the state implicit the adjacent decade. It estimates that crossed the country, betwixt 430,000 and 480,000 caller units volition request to beryllium built annually implicit the adjacent decennary to re-establish affordability past seen successful 2019.

"Calgary volition request astir 9,000 much lodging starts a twelvemonth for the adjacent 10 years to get backmost to 2019 affordability levels," said Matt Laberge, main economist with CMHC.

"That won't beryllium imaginable without changing fundamentally however we build. I'm reasoning much [housing], but also, a much trained workforce toward technologies similar AI, robotics and automation."

Housing affordability, arsenic defined by CMHC, means that prices should not transcend 30 per cent of a household's gross income.

Record lodging supply

As CBC Calgary has reported extensively implicit the years, Calgary's lodging situation emerged aft the highest of the pandemic. That's erstwhile prices elsewhere successful Canada surged and radical crossed the state — and beyond — moved to the metropolis faster than proviso could accommodate.

To support up with the growth, Calgary recorded 24,369 lodging starts successful 2024 — the 3rd consecutive twelvemonth of grounds lodging starts, according to CMHC.

Similarly, Edmonton broke its ain grounds with 18,384 lodging starts past year. Housing prices successful that metropolis are edging up, but it remains 1 of the much affordable large municipalities successful the country.

The study has a overmuch much optimistic outlook for Alberta's superior city. It says Edmonton is gathering a capable magnitude of lodging to support affordability implicit the adjacent 10 years.

The CEO of BILD Alberta said it's excessively soon to observe successful either city.

"This study demonstrates that we can't remainder connected our laurels and say, 'Hey, we acceptable a grounds past year, everything's bully to go," said Scott Fash, whose relation represents groups similar developers and builders.

"We request to support pushing and we request to support improving successful bid to marque definite that we don't extremity up, 5 years from now, having a treatment astir however we're 1 of the astir unaffordable markets successful Canada."

ATB Chief Economist Mark Parsons said he's taking the projections for Edmonton with a atom of brackish due to the fact that it inactive requires implicit 16,000 caller units to beryllium built each year.

He besides noted that Edmonton has go the destination of prime for galore young families.

"Perhaps due to the fact that of the affordability advantage, you could person much radical moving to Edmonton than envisioned by CMHC, which would enactment further unit connected the lodging market."

Concerns astir labour

Parsons said he'll beryllium watching to spot however overmuch lodging tin beryllium built arsenic Alberta faces ongoing labour shortages successful the operation sector, an elevated unemployment complaint and skills mismatches.

Bill Black, president of the Calgary Construction Association, said it's been "very intense" to support up with Alberta's request for infrastructure, whether that's lodging oregon commercialized buildings.

He said galore workers successful the manufacture consciousness unappreciated, which is adding to the problem.

"Constantly scorecarding manufacture without acknowledging its achievements conscionable is not helping," said Black.

"The authorities has to admit that we spent the past 40 years allowing operation to go accepted connected a societal standard arsenic a second- oregon third-rate career…. There needs to beryllium a designation of the mistake of that societal stigma being allowed to prevail."

Fash astatine BILD Alberta said gathering these targets volition necessitate a full-scale effort from each levels of government.

"Our municipalities request to beryllium providing the onshore for america to bash it and the approvals to bash it. Our provincial and national partners request to beryllium figuring retired however we supply the infrastructure to enactment each of that maturation and successful a outgo effectual way."

He besides wants Albertans connected board.

"We request much lodging successful each country of our communities and we request to fig retired collectively however to bash it. I'm not going to beryllium present and accidental that 1 mode is the close way, the different mode is not. But we person to bash things a small spot otherwise than possibly we person historically."