Edmonton housing starts spike year-over-year

Things are looking up in the Edmonton housing market.

The number of new housing startsin the first quarter of 2017 was nearly 50 per cent higher than in the same period of 2016, the City of Edmonton reported Monday.

"I was pleasantly surprised that we've seen the strength we have in the first quarter," said John Rose, the city's chief economist.

Developers started building a total of 2,172 units in the first three months of 2017 compared to 1,463 units in the first three months of 2016.

• Edmonton home values see biggest drop in Canada in fourth quarter
• Edmonton housing prices will eventually collapse, expert says
• Edmonton mayor says new approach needed for infill homes in pre-war neighbourhoods

The biggest spike was in multi-family homes including condos, townhouses and row housing, Rose pointed out. Multi-family housing starts were up 91.6 per cent increase year over year. Single-family starts were down 3.3 per cent year over year.

"When you compare the housing start numbers to those very depressed numbers in the first quarter of 2016, the growth rate is quite remarkable," Rose said.

He said the new numbersrepresentsolid growth and a turnaround in the housing market, a sign the economy is on the mend.

"We're certainly going in the right direction."

By contrast, quarter-over-quarter numbers dropped the total number ofhousing units started in January, February and March was 4.9 per cent lower than the 2,283 units started in the final three months of 2016.

The number of single-familyhousing starts was down by 31.2 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared to the last quarter of 2016. Multi-family homes, meanwhile, saw a 13.3-per-cent increase quarter over quarter.

Rose believes many of the new units are considered affordable housing.

"We're one of the most affordable housing markets in Canada among the major cities," he said. "With these very solid numbers, new supply coming on to the market, that will ensure we'll continue to see a relatively affordable market."

The southwest and northeast parts of the city are seeing "very active" housing developments this year, Rose added.

He estimates the housing market will stay steady throughout the year.