(Dreamstime)

By David Opinko

Housing starts in Lethbridge more than doubled in early 2021

Apr 22, 2021 | 11:11 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – To go hand-in-hand with a hot real estate market, the home construction sector is booming.

New data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) shows a 43 per cent increase in housing starts in all Canadian communities with a population of at least 10,000 people in the first quarter of 2021.

Bob Dugan, CMHC’s Chief Economist, says construction kicked off on over 54,000 homes nationally so far this year.

“The national trend in housing starts increased in March, reflecting very elevated levels of activity in January and March 2021.”

Dugan adds that this is reflective of a greater trend taking place over the last six months.

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Across Alberta, there were 5,894 housing starts from January to the end of March, marking a 16 per cent increase from the same time last year.

Lethbridge saw a drastic year-over-year rise in new home construction.

In the first three months of 2020, the city saw 79 housing starts. This year, there were 204 housing starts, a figure that represents a jump of 158 per cent.

Among Alberta’s major cities, that is by far the largest percentage increase.

Just in March, work started on 39 homes in Lethbridge, up from 32 last March.

Housing-related markets continue to be strong in the city as the first quarter was also the best-ever for home sales.

READ MORE: Lethbridge sees its strongest-ever quarter for home sales