Lethbridge housing starts show November bounce

LETHBRIDGE – November was an up month in what has otherwise been a down year for housing starts in Lethbridge.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) reported 100 housing starts in Lethbridge during the month, more than double the 43 reported for November 2015. The number includes 77 single-family dwellings, up from 39, and 23 multi-family homes, up from four.

The number was the biggest of the five Alberta communities with populations between 50,000 and 100,000 people. Housing starts in Calgary and Edmonton were down significiantly from November of last year, for a provincial urban total of 2,070, down more than a third from the 3,389 reported in November 2015.

Year-to-date, 601 starts were reported in Lethbridge, down from 765 in 2015. The numbers showed a smaller percentage decline than the total for urban centres, which dropped frmo 32,875 to 20,712.