A framer puts together part of a new home in Calgary late last year. According to Statistics Canada, housing starts in Alberta, seasonally adjusted, climbed by 15.2 per cent to a seven-year high of 46,456 units in May. (Bryan Labby/CBC) The clamour of hammers and saws are again filling Alberta’s cities as surging oil prices fuel a fresh building boom in the province. According to Statistics Canada, housing starts in Alberta, seasonally adjusted at an annual rate, climbed by 15.2 per cent to a seven-year high of 46,456 units in May. Taking rural areas out of the equation and looking only at urban centres with a population of 10,000 or more, housing starts in Alberta were up 34.6 per cent year-over-year. By comparison, housing starts in Canada as a whole increased 3.4 per cent over the same period. "Calgary’s definitely been leading the way in amounts of activity," said Scott Fash, executive director of the Building Industry and Land Development Association Alberta (BILD Alberta). "Edmonton’s a little behind, but they’re also seeing the most starts since 2015. But Calgary is just going nuts and booming." Economists have long viewed housing starts as an important economic indicator, both because new […]
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