2025 marks another record year for housing delivery in Calgary

Calgary continued to lead the country in housing delivery in 2025, setting new records across the development and construction pipeline as The City of Calgary worked to meet population growth and improve housing supply, choice, and affordability for Calgarians.  

"Another record year of creating more housing in Calgary proves that we can build at the speed and scale required to tackle the affordable housing crisis," said Mayor Jeromy Farkas. "Together with the development industry, non-profit housing providers and all orders of government, we have the tools, skills, and will to build the homes all Calgarians need now and into the next decade."

In 2025, nearly 28,000 total homes were granted occupancy, which is more than double the 10-year annual average of just over 13,000. While the housing market has cooled across Canada, Calgary remains in a strong position to provide new units for residents, having approved over 23,600 homes through development permits and 25,700 homes through building permits by year end.  

“This success is no accident,” said Teresa Goldstein, Director of Community Planning. “Delivering housing at this scale is not about a single year — it’s about sustained, long-term system change. We have laid a strong foundation to be Canada’s housing engine through a decade of planning process improvements and collaboration with industry. The progress we saw in 2025 positions Calgary to better absorb future growth while supporting affordability and livability across the city.” 

Non-market housing is also picking up steam in the city. 2025 saw over 1,800 non-market homes receiving development permit approvals, which is five times the average annual volume. The City attributes this momentum to intentional investments and programs, such as the Non-Market Land Sale Program and the Housing Capital Initiative, which work to further strengthen a growing non-profit housing sector.   

“These results are an indicator that The City’s programs and investments to increase the supply of non-market housing are enabling projects to move forward,” said Reid Hendry, Chief Housing Officer. “While we still have lots of work to do to achieve our goal of 3,000 non-market homes per year, we’re starting to see what’s possible when all orders of government, the development industry and non-profit partners work together to deliver the homes Calgarians urgently need.”  

Secondary suites continued to play an important role in Calgary’s housing system in 2025. A record number of nearly 6,200 secondary suites were granted occupancy in 2025 (compared to nearly 5,000 in 2024 and 3,000 in 2023), bringing the total in Calgary to more than 23,500 registered suites, largely thanks to The City’s Secondary Suites Incentive Program. 

Additionally, Downtown office-to-residential conversions continued to be contributor to new housing supply in 2025. Five residential conversion projects opened last year in the Downtown core, adding a total of 490 homes in 2025 (compared to 110 in 2024), including 130 non-market housing units. 

City of Calgary housing stats at a glance (Jan.1-Dec. 31, 2025) 

How does 2025 compare to previous years? Take a look at the chart below to see the substantial increases across several metrics.  

Calgary’s record housing activity in 2025 reflects The City’s ongoing efforts to respond to rapid population growth while supporting a more balanced housing market. Increased supply, particularly in multi-residential, rental and secondary suite development, is beginning to ease pressure on rents and prices while providing more choice for households at different life stages and income levels. 

Balanced growth split 

In 2025, growth in new communities accounted for 57 per cent of the new homes citywide while existing communities (developed areas) accounted for 43 per cent. About 13,000 new homes were issued building permits in new communities while the developed areas saw about 9,600 new homes.  

For comparison, in 2024, new communities made up 73 per cent of the citywide share compared to developed areas which captured 27 per cent. Over the last five years, new communities have made up 69 per cent of the citywide share compared to developed areas which captured 31 per cent on average. 

“This significant shift in growth split is due in part to our policies and incentives focused on developed area growth. Calgary’s Municipal Development Plan has a long-range target of 50 per cent of cumulative growth in developed areas and the 2025 percentages reflect both the market and The City’s efforts to achieve that,” said Kathy Davies Murphy, Director of City and Regional Planning. “As we plan our city for two million people and beyond, we are focused on creating complete communities provide choice for Calgarians to live close to jobs, services and transit.” 

Planning and building process improvements 

The City is constantly improving its planning processes with 2025 initiatives such as: 

• Removal of Rowhome development permits in developing communities
• Same day foundation permits
• Same day contractor permits
• Expedited Review for Builders process (XRB)
• Adopting AI with the Application Intake Modernization process (AIM) 

Looking ahead 

While housing approvals reached record levels in 2025, The City recognizes that housing affordability challenges will not be solved overnight. Continued collaboration with the development industry, non-profit housing providers, and other levels of government will be essential to maintaining momentum and responding to changing housing needs and market conditions. 

“While we continue to be Canada’s housing engine, we recognize that tens of thousands of Calgarians are still struggling with affordability and inadequate housing for their needs,” said Hendry. “In 2026 and beyond, we are committed to continuing to lean in and meet this challenge head on, so that every Calgarian has a safe, stable and affordable place to call home.”   

Supplementary quotes from partners 

“Calgary is leading the country by proving that strong growth and affordability can happen at the same time. As we move toward a city of two million, it’s essential that we grow both up and out in a balanced way. Progress toward the Municipal Development Plan’s 50/50 growth goal benefits every Calgarian—supporting affordability, easing pressure on property taxes, and strengthening complete communities. CICBA is encouraged by this momentum and looks forward to continuing the work alongside The City, communities, Council and industry.” – Grace Lui, President, Calgary Inner City Builders Association (CICBA) 

“Attainable Homes Calgary is actively fulfilling its mandate to deliver non-market housing on development-ready land on behalf of The City of Calgary. It is rewarding to know our pipeline of housing contributed to The City of Calgary’s record year in housing delivery, especially in the much-needed category of non-market housing. In 2025, we stacked 84 apartment units into place in Calgary’s downtown west end within 10 days. This is the future of construction for Attainable Homes Calgary, and we are in position to deliver hundreds of homes a year with this innovative form of construction.” – Jaydan Tait, President & CEO, Attainable Homes Calgary 

"Community Planning, the Chief Housing Office, and programs like The City's Non-Market Land Sale Program are enabling non-profits like Liberty to move faster and deliver at scale. The fast-tracked approval of our 196 home Boro Block project demonstrates what’s possible when The City and the non-profit sector work together with urgency and purpose.” – David White, Board Member, Liberty Housing Organization 

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