New data suggests Edmonton is barrelling toward another record-breaking year for new home construction, even as early signs of a slowdown appear in some segments of the market.
Record-Breaking Pace Set to Continue
Statistics released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) in late November reveal a robust construction landscape. Building starts in October grew almost five per cent compared to the same month last year. More impressively, on a year-to-date basis, starts have surged by nearly 22 per cent.
By October 31, the city had recorded 17,989 housing starts. Taylor Pardy, lead economist for the Prairies at CMHC, indicates this momentum will likely push Edmonton past the all-time annual record of 18,384 starts set just last year in 2024. That recent record itself surpassed a previous high mark from 1978, which saw 17,065 starts.
A Market in Transition: Ownership vs. Rental
The composition of this year's building boom tells a story of a dual-track market. Nearly half of all starts, 48 per cent year-to-date, have been for homes intended for ownership, including single-family detached, semi-detached, and row houses. Condominiums accounted for another 10 per cent.
However, the dominant force has been the purpose-built rental sector. Rental apartment construction made up a substantial 42 per cent of all housing starts this year. Pardy notes this high level of apartment activity is expected to continue into 2026, as many of these large-scale projects were planned years ago when demand was spiking.
Signs of a Shift in Single-Family Segments
Despite the overall record pace, Pardy points to emerging signals of a cooldown, particularly in the market for new ownership homes. "We're seeing higher inventories in the single-detached and townhome segments," he states. Builders have responded to this growing supply of unabsorbed units by slowing new construction.
In October, starts for single-family detached homes fell 16 per cent year-over-year, with 526 units begun. Similarly, row housing starts dipped by nearly two per cent, with 252 starts. Even with these monthly declines, both segments remain up for the year-to-date—detached homes by over three per cent (5,805 starts) and row homes by nearly 16 per cent (2,545 starts).
The contrast is sharp with other housing types. Semi-detached starts jumped about 26 per cent year-over-year in October, and apartment starts soared by nearly 33 per cent. On a year-to-date basis, apartment construction has skyrocketed by 41 per cent, reaching 8,361 starts.
The data on unsold inventory underscores the shifting dynamic. In October, the Edmonton market had 1,432 new and unabsorbed single-family detached homes, a increase of more than 28 per cent from the previous year—the highest rise among all new housing types.
Pardy explains that builders of detached and row homes can adjust their production plans more swiftly to market conditions than large apartment developers, which is precisely what they are doing now. While Edmonton's housing market is still poised for a historic year, the path forward shows a clear divergence between the booming rental sector and a more cautious market for new, owned single-family homes.
