Housing starts in Red Deer last month were nearly 50 per cent higher than in February 2009, according to numbers issued Monday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
CMHC reported that work was initiated on 31 homes in the city last month, 29 of which were single-detached dwellings. The remainder were units in multi-family buildings.
A year earlier, Red Deer had 17 single-detached starts and four in the multi-family category.
Year-over-year residential construction rebounds were also evident in Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. Conversely, the February numbers were down in Grande Prairie and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.
Combined housing starts in Alberta’s seven largest urban centres totalled 1,562 last month, an improvement from 574 in February 2009.
As of Feb. 28, Red Deer’s 2010 housing starts numbered 80, more than double the 38 recorded to the same point last year. In the case of single-detached dwellings only, the figure was 51, up from 34.