A robust job market, decreased new home inventory and additional lots boosted Red Deer’s housing market over a one-year period, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation statistics.
The most significant jump was in multi-family housing — 82 starts in March 2012 compared with eight the year previously. For single-detached housing, there were 25 starts in March 2012 as opposed to 17 in the same period, or a 47 per cent increase.
Regine Durand, market analyst for CMHC, said the number of housing starts during the first three months of this year was huge, with a total of 137. The bulk of these were in multi-family housing.
Last year for this time, the total was 85, or a surge of 61 per cent.
During the first three months, Red Deer experienced a 21 per cent decline in single family starts. The number totalled 49 compared with 62 during January through March 2011.
“But overall, it’s a huge increase in activity,” said Durand from Calgary on Wednesday. “The multi-family segment is very strong. We’re seeing a lot of row housing and apartments. We believe the single family starts are going to pick up over the summer.”
New jobs coming on stream are fuelling the demand for new homes.
Between last February and this February, there were 3,600 new jobs created in Red Deer, Durand said.
Most of those jobs were full time.
The inventory for builders, the new homes that are completed and unsold, are also on the decline, Durand said.
Right now, there are 62 new single-family and multi-family homes unsold. This is down 42 per cent over a one-year period.
“It gives us the pulse of the market, so whenever we see this going down, builders are going to start filling their stocks again,” said Durand.
Builders also have less competition from the resale market. Listings are down 16 per cent in March — a little over 400 existing homes are listed, compared with more than 500 the same time in 2011.
Builders also have more available lots in new neighbourhoods like Johnstone Park and Timberlands, Durand said.
Other Central Alberta housing starts for January to March 2012 are as follows: 17 single-family starts for Red Deer County (11 in 2011 period); 27 single-family starts for Sylvan Lake (31 in 2011 period) and 24 multi-family starts (2 in 2011 period); 10 single-family starts for Mountain View County (six in 2011 period); six single-family starts for Lacombe (nine in 2011 period) and 16 multi-family starts (10 in 2011 period); Lacombe County saw five single-family starts (nine in 2011 period); and Clearwater County had four single-family starts in 2012 (four in 2011 period).
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com