Calgary's housing market is on track to achieve a remarkable milestone, with new home construction activity poised to set an annual record for the third year in a row. Fresh data indicates that the pace of housing starts in 2025 is already nearing the total for all of last year, a year that itself shattered previous records.
Record-Breaking Pace Continues
According to Taylor Pardy, the lead economist for the Prairies at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp (CMHC), 2025 is "very likely another record year" for housing starts in Calgary. The CMHC's October data, released in late November, shows that year-to-date starts have surged by 19% compared to the already record-breaking 2024 figures. Starts in October alone were up nearly 14% year-over-year.
This sustained boom follows two previous years of unprecedented activity. In 2024, Calgary saw 24,369 housing starts, demolishing the 2023 record of 19,579. As of October 31, 2025, the city has already recorded 23,951 starts, putting it within striking distance of last year's total with two months still remaining.
A Shift in Market Dynamics
Despite the overall strong numbers, Pardy notes signs of a slowdown in certain segments. Activity for single-family detached, semi-detached, and row homes has cooled, with all three categories posting year-over-year declines in October. For the year to date, only single-family detached homes are down, showing a decrease of almost two percent.
The engine driving the market's growth is squarely in the multi-unit sector. Apartment starts have skyrocketed, increasing 36% year-to-date and 14% in October alone compared to 2024. "Really it's been in the multi-unit segment driving starts higher, and a big part of that has been the rental apartment segment," Pardy explained.
The Price Gap Slows Sales
For the ownership market, realtor Tom Albrecht of The A-Team, Re/Max First in Calgary, points to pricing, not demand, as the primary brake on sales. "The average price for a newly constructed home is significantly higher than the average resale home in Calgary," Albrecht stated.
CMHC statistics underscore this widening gap. In October, the average price of an absorbed new single-family detached home rose over three percent year-over-year to $890,163. From January to October, a staggering 99% of all absorbed new single-family homes were priced at least $550,000, with 76% exceeding $700,000. This represents a notable climb from 2024, when 96% were over $550,000 and 65% were above $700,000.
In stark contrast, the Calgary Real Estate Board reports the average price of a resale detached home in November was approximately $742,000, which is down about seven percent from the previous year. This substantial price differential is making resale homes a more attractive option for many buyers, tempering sales in the new construction segment for single-family homes.
As the year draws to a close, Calgary's housing landscape is defined by this dual narrative: breakneck growth in multi-family rental construction meeting housing demand, while high prices moderate the market for new ownership homes, setting the stage for the city's evolving real estate future.
