According to a news report, the demand for the construction of new homes in Calgary grew by five percent over the first half of 2018, compared to the same period last year, with four communities at the north end of the city leading the pace.

According to the city’s planning and development department, most of the applications for residential permits between the first of June and the end of August were from builders in four communities of the city’s north side.

The only community with triple digits this time was Northeast Calgary’s Cornerstone, which is by Anthem United and Walton Development and Management. The community filled 107 residential permits.

“It is great to see the continued growth and interest in Cornerstone, especially in a tough economic environment,” says Megan Starke, marketing manager for Anthem United. “We were excited with the late spring push and are happy that it continued through what normally is quiet summer months.”

“It is exciting to see that the planning for Cornerstone is being recognized by buyers,” she adds. “A lot of effort was put into amenity planning and the product types for this multi-generational community. This includes the future wetland, access to a future LRT, the Major Activity Centre (MAC), and home styles that allow for secondary entries into the home.”

The builder group in Cornerstone includes Jayman Built, Pacesetter by Sterling Homes, Shane Homes, Morrison Homes, and Truman Homes.

The next communities after Cornerstone with the highest number of building permit application between June 1 and August 31 were Livingston with 79 applications, and with 71 apiece, were Evanston and Carrington. Livingston (the 519-hectare property) is by Brookfield Residential. It connects with Centre Street, west of Deerfoot Trail in north Calgary.

Evanston – which is by Qualico Communities – and Carrington can be found in northwest Calgary. The Carrington area has lots of master-planned communities building within it. One such building is by Genstar Development Co. and the other is by Mattamy Homes. 

Several other communities have filled in applications for at least 40 residential building permit in the last three months. 68 were by the southeast lake community of Mahogany by Hopewell Residential, Saddle Ridge has 46, and Legacy in Southeast Calgary by WestCreek Developments filled 40.

Saddle Ridge, and 40 from Legacy in southeast Calgary by WestCreek Developments.

Building permits usually reflect an intent to build and does not necessarily show the number of homes that have been sold.

However, Jayman Built which credited a good portion of its activity to pre-construction sales, is on a “very similar sales pace to where we were in 2017,” says sales manager Michael Klassen.

When asked about the health of housing in the Calgary area, Klassen said things are positive and that they (Jayman Built) are optimistic.

“I think there’s good confidence in the market.”

“I think there’s good confidence in the market. We are seeing more and more people moving to Calgary from out of town, which is a positive. We are seeing a lot more out-of-towners moving in from the east, specifically.”

“Our affordability is very good right now in Calgary,” he adds. “There’s an advantage there for home buyers today.”