Calgary housing starts decline again in February

Lowered confidence in the economy is partly to blame for the decline in Calgary housing starts, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Housing starts in Calgary were trending at 11,434 units in February, down from 12,484 in January.

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"Total housing starts trended lower in February as the trend in single-detached and multi-family construction declined compared to the previous month," saysRichard Cho, theCMHC's principal market analyst for the city.

"Competition from the resale market, full-time job losses, as well as reduced confidence in the economy has slowed demand for new homes."

The trend is calculated using a six-month moving average of the monthly, Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rates (SAAR)of total housing starts.CMHCuses the trend measure as a complement to the monthlySAARof housing starts to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and obtain a more complete picture of the state of the housing market.

In Calgary, thestand-alone monthly SAAR was 7,042 units in February, down from 7,573 in January. Actual housing starts in February totalled 589 units. In February 2015, startswere791.