Residential building permits continue to rise in Q2, signaling progress for Calgary's housing supply
Calgary continued to see strong growth for residential building permits in the second quarter of 2024. The City received 3,613 residential building permit applications during this time, a 35 per cent increase compared to 2023 Q2. During the same period, 3,328 residential building permits were issued, a year-over-year increase of 38 per cent. This includes permits for secondary suites, single/semi-detached, rowhouses and mixed-use buildings. These increases demonstrate the progress that the development industry and The City are making towards increasing the housing supply in Calgary and achieving the objectives of Home is Here - The City of Calgary's Housing Strategy.
“We are pleased to see continued investment from industry in Calgary’s residential building sector,” says Ulrik Seward, Chief Building Official for The City of Calgary. “The numbers show that the development industry is creating a variety of housing options at different price points. This provides more housing choices for a greater number of Calgarians.”
Calgary’s housing market is making strides in increasing the variety of housing types that are available – and that people want to live in. We received 1,672 building permit applications for secondary suites in 2024 Q2, an increase of 57 per cent year-over-year.
We saw the development industry increase their building permit applications for rowhouses, single/semi-detached homes and mixed-use buildings. Year-over-year, 26 per cent more building permit applications for rowhouses, 24 per cent more building permit applications for single/semi-detached homes and 14 per cent more building permit applications for mixed-use buildings with residential units were received. At the same time, 26 per cent more single/semi-detached, 60 per cent more rowhouses and 33 per cent more mixed-use building housing units were completed compared to 2023 Q2.
Builders completed construction on 19 apartment building during this time, seven more apartment buildings than were completed in the second quarter of 2023. This resulted in 1,558 apartment units being completed, a 124 per cent increase over the same period in 2023. Of the completed apartment buildings, six of them were amongst the 10 highest value construction projects completed in the quarter. Those six apartment buildings provide Calgarians with 827 homes.
During this quarter, the top 10 construction projects listed below were completed and demonstrate a $284.4M investment in Calgary’s residential and industrial sectors.
1. 612 Apartments, a six storey multi-residential building with 264 residential units in Kingsland, valued at $42.9M.
2. Dufferin Lands, a warehouse located in East Shepard Industrial, valued at $41.7M.
3. Blume Mixed Use Residential, a 15-storey mixed-use building with 177 residential units in Dalhousie, valued at $39.2M.
4. Glamorgan Landing Estates, a six-storey multi-residential building with 35 residential units in Glamorgan, valued at $31.8M.
5. Argyle, a six-storey multi-residential building with 121 residential units in the University District, valued at $27.6M.
6. The Willows - Building 3 & Parkade, a five-storey multi-residential building with 94 residential units in Springbank Hill, valued at $23.6M.
7. Truman North Building B, a six-storey multi-residential building with 136 residential units in Skyview Ranch, valued at $22.2M.
8. Great Plains Warehouse Expansion, a warehouse facility in Great Plains, valued at $19.4M.
9. Starfield Industrial Building 5, a warehouse facility located in Starfield, valued at $18M.
10. Starfield Industrial Building 4, a warehouse facility located in Starfield, valued at $18M.
The 2024 Q2 results show that the housing landscape in Calgary is becoming more varied. A greater number of Calgarians will have more housing choices at different price points as a result. More information on building permit application values is available by ward and community on calgary.ca. Data on building permit values can be found on the open data catalogue. Development, building and licensing approval timeline commitments are also publicly posted on Calgary.ca.