The demand for new construction of homes in Calgary grew five per cent over the first half of 2018, compared to the same time last year, with the communities of Mahogany and Cornerstone setting the pace.
Between Jan. 1 and the end of June, there were 2,189 residential building permit applications submitted to the City of Calgary, says its planning and development department. During the same months in 2017, there were 2,086.
Building permits reflect an intent to build, and not necessarily homes that have been sold.
With that said, Jayman Built, which attributes a “large percentage” 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.
On the health of housing in the Calgary area, Klassen says things are “positive,” adding “we’re optimistic.”
“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.”
Through the first six months of 2018, the southeast Calgary community of Mahogany and Cornerstone in the northeast have led all ends of the city in residential permit applications, says the city’s planning and development department.
During this time, Mahogany by Hopewell Residential had 194 and Cornerstone by Anthem United and Walton Development and Management posted 182.
Jayman is a member of the builder group for both Mahogany and Cornerstone, among other communities in the Calgary area. When asked about the success of these two communities, specifically, Klassen says they possess separate but important characteristics, singling out the freshwater lake in Mahogany, and convenient distance to Stoney Trail and the Calgary International Airport for Cornerstone, among others.
Four other communities — three of which are located on the north end of Calgary — were in triple-digits for residential permit applications over the first half of 2018, as well, says the city’s planning and development department.
They include the southeast Calgary community of Legacy by WestCreek Developments with 135, along with Evanston with 126, Livingston with 125, and Carrington at 106.
Evanston is by Qualico Communities and Livingston is by Brookfield Residential. Carrington is an area with two separate master-planned communities by Mattamy Homes and Genstar Development Co., respectively, developing within it.
In June alone, Cornerstone led all ends of Calgary in residential building permit applications with 36, says the city’s planning and development department. It was followed by 35 in Evanston, and 33 in Mahogany.
This article originally appeared on Calgary Herald.
