There are strong signs of growth in the Grande Prairie housing market. The number of new homes started so far this year is nearly 1.5 times what was seen in the first four months of 2015. There were 116 housing starts by the end of April, compared to 49 last year.
The spike is largely being driven by multiple family homes, of which 91 have started, more than four times the 20 we saw a year ago. Single family homes are down slightly from 29 to 25.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says the same trend is being seen in Edmonton. However, Market Analyst Christina Butchart doesn’t expect the swing in multi-unit buildings to continue as what’s being built right now should sustain demand.