By Geoff Smith (@GeoffSmithLNN on Twitter)

Lethbridge housing starts see 10 per cent decline in first half of 2018

Jul 10, 2018 | 9:49 AM

LETHBRIDGE – A decline in June housing starts saw the Lethbridge area end the first half of 2018 down overall, compared to 2017.

During the month, the Lethbridge census metropolitan area (CMA) saw 33 new single-family homes started, down from 41 a year earlier, and 13 multiple-unit dwellings, down from 17 in June 2017, for a total decline of more than one-fifth.

Year-to-date, while there has been a slight increase in the number of multiple-unit homes started, overall housing starts of 272 marks a decline of approximately 10 per cent.

Medicine Hat saw a nearly 50 per cent increase in housing starts in the first six months of 2017, but the total of 70 is well behind Lethbridge. Red Deer also lags, with 84, a decrease of nearly one-third.  Grande Prairie declined by 42 per cent, and the post-fire rebuild of Fort McMurray was slower this year, with 416 starts so far in Wood Buffalo – a decrease of nearly half.

The Edmonton CMA was down 15 per cent in the first half of the year, while Calgary saw an increase of eight per cent.

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The seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for Lethbridge was 545 in June, down from 738 in May. The trend, based on a six-month moving average of SAAR, declined from 615 to 589.

Numbers for the Lethbridge CMA include the communities of Coaldale, Coalhurst, Picture Butte, Nobleford, and Barons, as well as Lethbridge County and the city.