According to a new report, Alberta is experiencing a historic housing boom with nearly 14,000 new housing starts in the first four months of 2024.

Citing statistics from the the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the website, Canadian Forest Industries, reported on May 17 that the province recorded 13,560 housing starts from January to April, and in April alone the province saw 3,816 housing starts, a third of which were rental homes, marking a 60 percent increase compared to April 2023. The increases were driven by rapid population growth and streamlined construction processes, according to the report.

The numbers were not so good throughout the rest of the country. The total monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of housing starts for all areas in Canada decreased 1% in April (240,229 units) compared to March (242,267), according to the CMHC.

The six-month trend in housing starts decreased 2.2% from 243,907 units in March to 238,585 units in April. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.

The actual number of housing starts across Canada in urban centers of 10,000 population and over was down 9% to 18,486 units in April compared to 20,231 units in April 2023. The year-over-year decrease was driven by lower multi-unit starts, down 11%, whereas single-detached starts increased 3%.

April’s actual housing starts were lower in all three major cities in Canada due to decreases in both multi-unit and single-detached starts. Toronto declined 38%, Vancouver fell 30% and Montreal was down 3% compared to April a year ago.