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Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Calgary's record housing starts fall short of restoring pre-pandemic affordability: CMHC
Calgary is breaking records when it comes to building new homes, but a new report says the city is still a long way from returning to pre-pandemic affordability levels. To restore affordability to what it was before COVID-19 hit, Calgary needs to build 45 per cent more new homes each year — on top of what's already being built, according to the report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The report looks into housing gaps across the country over the next decade. It estimates that across the country, between 430,000 and 480,000 new units will need to be built annually over the next decade to re-establish affordability last seen in 2019. "Calgary will need about 9,000 more housing starts a year for the next 10 years to get back to 2019 affordability levels," said Matt Laberge, chief economist with CMHC. "That won't be possible without changing fundamentally how we build. I'm thinking more [housing], but also, a more trained workforce toward technologies like AI, robotics and automation." Housing affordability, as defined by CMHC, means that prices should not exceed 30 per cent of a household's gross income. As CBC Calgary has reported extensively over the years, Calgary's housing crisis emerged after the peak of the pandemic. That's when prices elsewhere in Canada surged and people across the country — and beyond — moved to the city faster than supply could accommodate. To keep up with the growth, Calgary recorded 24,369 housing starts in 2024 — the third consecutive year of record housing starts, according to CMHC. Similarly, Edmonton broke its own record with 18,384 housing starts last year. Housing prices in that city are edging up, but it remains one of the more affordable major municipalities in the country. The report has a much more optimistic outlook for Alberta's capital city. It says Edmonton is building a sufficient amount of housing to maintain affordability over the next 10 years. The CEO of BILD Alberta said it's too soon to celebrate in either city. "This report demonstrates that we can't rest on our laurels and say, 'Hey, we set a record last year, everything's good to go," said Scott Fash, whose association represents groups like developers and builders. "We need to keep pushing and we need to keep improving in order to make sure that we don't end up, five years from now, having a discussion about how we're one of the most unaffordable markets in Canada." ATB Chief Economist Mark Parsons said he's taking the projections for Edmonton with a grain of salt because it still requires over 16,000 new units to be built each year. He also noted that Edmonton has become the destination of choice for many young families. "Perhaps because of the affordability advantage, you could have more people moving to Edmonton than envisioned by CMHC, which would put additional pressure on the housing market." Parsons said he'll be watching to see how much housing can be built as Alberta faces ongoing labour shortages in the construction sector, an elevated unemployment rate and skills mismatches. Bill Black, president of the Calgary Construction Association, said it's been "very intense" to keep up with Alberta's demand for infrastructure, whether that's housing or commercial buildings. He said many workers in the industry feel unappreciated, which is adding to the problem. "Constantly scorecarding industry without acknowledging its achievements just is not helping," said Black. "The government has to recognize that we spent the last 40 years allowing construction to become accepted on a societal scale as a second- or third-rate career…. There needs to be a recognition of the error of that societal stigma being allowed to prevail." Fash at BILD Alberta said meeting these targets will require a full-scale effort from all levels of government. "Our municipalities need to be providing the land for us to do it and the approvals to do it. Our provincial and federal partners need to be figuring out how we provide the infrastructure to support all of that growth and in a cost effective way." He also wants Albertans on board. "We need more housing in every corner of our communities and we need to figure out collectively how to do it. I'm not going to sit here and say that one way is the right way, the other way is not. But we have to do things a little bit differently than maybe we have historically."
Calgary Herald
12-06-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Calgary still 42,000 housing units short of what's needed: chief housing officer
Article content 'We've laid a foundation of sound planning principles over the last decade-plus that, when coupled with the Home is Here strategy, has resulted in Calgary being Canada's housing engine,' Hendry said. Article content One of the most noteworthy achievements, he argued, was the city's approval last year of 893 below-market housing development permit approvals. But while that represents an 850 per cent year-over-year growth from 2023, he noted it still falls well short of the city's 3,000-unit target. Article content Another area the strategy has fallen short is closing Calgary's housing supply gap. Hendry showed a graph highlighting that, despite the ongoing housing boom, the city is on track to have a shortage of roughly 42,000 housing units by the end of this year. Article content Article content Although the strategy has fallen short of some targets in its first year and a half, the plan is nevertheless working and the city needs to 'stay the course,' according to Hendry. He encouraged committee members to consider the housing gap whenever housing-related initiatives and projects come before council. Article content Article content As for the strategy's next steps, Hendry hinted at a 'by Indigenous, for Indigenous' housing program called Maa'too'maa'taapii Aoko'iyii'piaya, which aims to meet the housing needs of Calgary's First Nation communities. Article content While the committee accepted Hendry's update for the corporate record, the item still saw dozens of public presenters, mostly representatives from housing and below-market housing organizations, who spoke to the strategy's merits and shortcomings. Article content Michelle James, policy director with Vibrant Communities Calgary — the non-profit organization that oversees the city's poverty reduction strategy — told the committee the charity strongly supports Home is Here, but urged council to put more focus on non-market housing. Article content Vibrant Communities Calgary estimates there are 40,000 households in Calgary that are exhausting all avenues to retain their housing, such as using resources like food banks or other charities, James said. There are also more than 3,000 unhoused Calgarians and more than 7,000 households on Calgary Housing's affordable housing waitlist.
CBC
06-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
16-unit affordable housing project breaks ground in Mount Pleasant neighbourhood
A new mixed-income affordable housing project broke ground in a northwest community on Thursday as the mayor highlighted Calgary's top spot in national housing starts. "For too long, affordable housing has been framed as something that cities simply cannot afford," Mayor Jyoti Gondek told reporters at the groundbreaking. "Here in Calgary, we are shifting that narrative because the truth is, we can't afford not to be investing in homes like this. We are putting dignity first." Sitting on the former site of St. Joseph School, the 16-unit mixed-income project will provide homes for about 45 people, with a planned opening in the summer of 2026. The head of Calgary Housing says the approach to subsidized housing has changed. "People from a variety of backgrounds will be able to live here and engage in this community as well as pursue their financial opportunity and success," Sarah Woodgate said. "That is why every home for affordable housing matters. All maintenance and other costs are covered through the rent revenue." Rent is pegged to income, so some people will pay more. "To increase affordable housing supply, you need three ingredients: land, predictable funding, including capital and financing, and also streamlined government processes," she said. $7.9M project, with $5.2M from province, federal government The project sits on city-owned land with funding and support from all levels of government. It'll cost about $7.9 million, with the province kicking in $3.7 million and another $1.5 million from a joint provincial-federal program. Current Calgary Housing works with about 27,000 residents, with a goal of 40,000. There are 680 homes under construction, with a future goal of 3,000. Gondek said cities across the country are looking at Calgary's model. Calgary's new housing starts tops the nation at about 14 per cent, and account for 55 per cent in the province, she said. "Every community should have a variety of housing so people can age in place, so people's adult children can live in the same neighbourhood they live in, and we can all have a great quality of life," the mayor said. Terry Wong, councillor for the area, Ward 7, said the location next to a dog park and playground has been welcomed by the community. "When I talk to the Mount Pleasant Community Association and the residents here, they want population, they want diversity, because that's what makes a community what it is," Wong said.
CBC
15-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Calgary housing developers optimistic about Carney's strategy, ready to see action
Hearing the new Liberal government tout an ambitious housing plan on the campaign trail has been music to the ears of developers working in the sector across Canada. But in Calgary, where accelerated population growth in recent years has hit the city during a national housing crisis, optimism for the federal strategy is tempered by desire to see more details about how its plan will play out on the ground. CBC News spoke with several leaders in Calgary's affordable housing sector who expressed hope for the strategy that Prime Minister Mark Carney has laid out. Attainable Homes Calgary President and CEO Jaydan Tait sees a lot to be optimistic about in the new plan, and while the Liberal Party formed a minority government that may not last a full term, he's confident there's progress the government can make quickly. "The number one thing this government could do right now is release the $10 billion in low-cost financing to the producers of affordable housing," Tait said. "They could do that immediately at below-market, very attractive interest rates that could get us building." But he noted that the strategy is only an idea until Ottawa can tell developers more about when and how they'll be able to access funding. New federal strategy In March, Carney unveiled his housing plan which promised to double the number of homes built annually to nearly 500,000, create an organization called Build Canada Homes to act as a developer overseeing affordable housing construction, and offer billions of dollars in low-cost financing and grants. Exceptional population growth through 2023 and 2024 led Alberta's population to recently hit five million people. Calgary has increased its efforts to build affordable housing, amid its population growth, after a city report found one in five households struggled to afford housing costs in 2021. Now, the city has taken an aggressive approach to offering more housing, as its 2024 housing review found it recorded the highest number of housing starts in Canada last year, surpassing 20,000 units for the first time. The new federal strategy offers funding designed to build affordable homes more quickly, and BILD Calgary Region CEO Brian Hahn said he wants to see government policy take a holistic approach to ensure buyers and renters at all wage levels have better access to housing. "If you only deal with one rung of that ladder, you create a logjam there. So it's important that whatever policy tools are applied, apply across the entire housing continuum," Hahn said. Hahn pointed to the federal strategy's commitment to cut municipal development charges in half as a "big game-changer," because the fees represent a meaningful portion of a new home's cost. But Calgary's mayor isn't as enthusiastic about the idea. Municipalities charge these fees to housing developers, and the funding is used to cover infrastructure costs like roads, transit, water, sewers and emergency services. Mayor Jyoti Gondek warned the cut would leave Calgarians to pick up the slack and pay more in taxes to keep critical infrastructure properly funded. "Municipalities have very few tools to raise revenue. Alongside levies, Calgary relies on property taxes, user fees and government transfers to provide safe, reliable and affordable services," Gondek wrote in a blog post, earlier this month. Building out housing supply Less than five per cent of all housing in Canada is operated in the public and "non-market sector," where rent isn't set by market forces, according to a 2021 paper commissioned by the Canadian Human Rights Commission. Tait said he'd like to see Ottawa take action on that figure and double the number of government-owned affordable units across the country. To further build out supply, Tait argued there's a "hyper-abundance" of publicly-owned land in Canada that could be released at zero cost to developers like his organization to be converted into affordable housing units. Sarah Woodgate, Calgary Housing's president and CEO, said she'd also like to see the federal government bolster Canada's housing supply by helping organizations like hers purchase housing. "In this current uncertain market, there is a window to provide capital funds for organizations like us to go out and buy housing that has been built or that is going to be built and secure it for perpetual affordable housing," Woodgate said. She'd also like to see Canada's Rental Protection Fund up and running. The program helps community housing groups acquire apartment buildings to preserve the affordability of rent in those units. The program was unveiled as part of the country's housing plan last year. Targeted housing supports Woodgate pointed to Canada Housing Benefit as another federal program she thinks is vital. The program is set to expire in 2027-28, and Woodgate argued the federal government should commit to renewing it, because its work to offer financial support for families in need is more vital now than when it was created. Carney's strategy aims to offer support to specific groups, including targeting funding for students and seniors, as well as more support for Indigenous housing. Shane Gauthier, CEO of the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary, which works to provide permanent supportive housing, said he supports these efforts as Indigenous people are over-represented in Canada's homeless population, but wants to see the federal government partner with existing Indigenous-led groups that better understand the cultural and historical contexts around the issue. "For us, this isn't an abstract issue; it's about our relatives, our community members, who deserve the safety, dignity, and cultural connection that a stable home provides," Gauther said. Streamlining development Developers across Calgary pointed to streamlining the process to deliver affordable housing as crucial to improving the country's housing supply. Canada's system is currently slow and piecemeal, said Woodgate, who advocates for an approach that would see the new Liberal government channel funding through experienced local housing providers that are better positioned to deliver the development needed in their local contexts. "Let's fund results, and not create new red tape. We already know how to build, and we need to get the capital out," Woodgate said. Mike Meldrum, CEO of the non-profit Calgary Affordable Housing Foundation which launched this year, added that all levels of government should coordinate funding mechanisms like grants and timelines so developers can more easily stack funding. The result would offer a level of certainty for developers who want to build housing that's offered below market value. "We can see that at times there is a waste of energy when everybody's worrying about getting credit and developing their own granting programs with their own criteria. It would be nice to see that be streamlined," said Meldrum. Mayoral candidates on federal strategy The new federal government and its housing strategy arrives during a year where Calgarians will go to the polls a second time to vote in new municipal leadership. And along with Gondek's concern about cuts to development fees, some of the city's other mayoral candidates called for ways that Ottawa can offer more aid to Calgary's affordable housing. Communities First mayoral candidate Sonya Sharp also wants more clarity about what the cuts to development fees will mean in Calgary, as its funding toward infrastructure is needed in redeveloping established neighbourhoods like Bowness and Altadore. She added that Ottawa would be more helpful setting goals for the provinces and municipalities to act on, because she argued housing strategies that will help in Toronto and Vancouver won't necessarily work in Calgary. "They should be setting targets. They should be establishing a funding pool for infrastructure and actually let the local government work with industry and province to deliver it," Sharp said, adding she'd also like to see all levels of government convert buildings they own into affordable housing. Brian Thiessen, The Calgary Party's mayoral candidate this fall, also wants to see more public land opened up for affordable housing, but he's skeptical of government acting as developers, as Carney's plan suggests through the Build Canada Homes entity. He said he'd like to see government instead partner with existing home builders. But Thiessen identifies another problem area that could be a choke point in housing progress. "If anything holds us back and prevents them in the next few years, it'll be the labour supply," Thiessen said. A significant number of skilled workers are needed, and Thiessen said he'd like to see more government funding going to schools like SAIT to train workers in the trades. Mayoral candidate Jeromy Farkas is in strong support of Carney's plan to cut development fees, but only if the burden doesn't fall on taxpayers to pick up the bill. He argues Ottawa has to offset cuts to development fees with dollar-for-dollar infrastructure funding for municipalities.
