Alberta housing starts down 19% year-to-date as Calgary new construction slows 20%

THREAT · Builders & Developers · Housing Starts

CMHC’s July housing starts data, released August 18, shows Alberta’s year-to-date starts running 19% below 2025 through July. Calgary’s actual starts fell 20% year-over-year, and CMHC Deputy Chief Economist Tania Bourassa-Ochoa singled out Calgary alongside Vancouver and Toronto as markets where “fewer new projects are being started.” Edmonton held up better, with starts down just 1% and units under construction actually rising 2.3% to 18,289.

The other half of the story is completions. Calgary delivered 1,879 units in July and Edmonton 1,729 — up 44.7% from June — as the large construction pipeline built up over the past two years keeps landing. Nationally, actual starts fell 19% year-over-year to 18,834 units in centres with 10,000-plus population.

What it means: Fewer launches plus surging completions means the market’s centre of gravity has moved from starting projects to absorbing finished ones. Builders and developers holding move-in-ready inventory are now competing for a thinner pool of active buyers — and how visibly and persuasively that inventory is marketed will decide who clears it first.