December 2024
MARKET REPORT & INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT
Building Permit Values
The total value of building permits (unadjusted for seasonality) issued in the Edmonton CMA in October increased 34% year-over-year to $610.6 million. So far this year, the total value of permits issued across the Metro area was up 43% from the first 11 months of 2023 to $5.62 billion.
The total value of building permits (unadjusted) issued in the city of Edmonton decreased by 34% from year-ago levels in November to $310 million. After 11 months this year, the total value of building intentions within the city of Edmonton was up 29% from the same time in 2023 to $3.94 billion.
Number of Building Permits
There were 1,446 building permits issued by the city of Edmonton in November, for a gain of 8.4% from a year prior.
For the year-to-date, the number of permits issued amounted to 17,235, up 23% from January to November 2023.
Housing Starts
Total housing starts in the Edmonton Metro Area were up 59% from year-ago levels in November to 2,143 units.
Within Edmonton City, total starts in November increased 75% year-over-year to 1,763 units.
For the year-to-date, total starts across Metro have increased 48% from the first 11 months of 2023 to 16,939 units.
Inside the city of Edmonton, starts so far in 2024 have increased by over 50% to 12,610 units.
Housing Starts
Investment in New Building Construction
Investment in new building construction was up in the Edmonton Region by 47% year-over-year in October to $630.9 million. Residential investment was up by one-half to $459.1 million.
So far this year, total new construction investment increased in the Edmonton area by 46% over January to October 2023 to $5.5 billion.
Constructions Contribution to GDP
The construction sector accounted for 8% of Alberta’s GDP in 2023, representing $26.95 billion in economic activity. Measured in constant (2017) dollars, this level of activity was down 5.3% from 2022 when the construction sector accounted for 8.6% of the province’s GDP.
Major Projects - City of Edmonton
According to the Alberta government’s major project tracking report, there were 188 major projects valued over $5 million either planned or underway in the city of Edmonton in November, up from 172 in August and 153 in May. Total estimated value of these projects was $44.82 billion, up marginally from three months earlier.
Total Employed in Construction
Statistics Canada estimated there were 247,900 people working in construction in Alberta during the month of November, down 1.5% year-over-year. The construction sector represented 9.7% of total employment across the province, largely unchanged from 10.1% in November 2023.
Construction employment in Greater Edmonton amounted to 94,000 jobs in November, up 6.6% from a year earlier.
Unemployed in Construction
The unemployment rate for the construction industry in Alberta stood at 6% in November, up from 4.5% a year prior.
There were an estimated 15,800 unemployed construction workers in the Alberta labour force in November compared with 11,900 a year ago.
Building Construction Price Indexes
The Statistics Canada residential construction price index for Edmonton increased in the third quarter of 2024 by 4.1% from July through September of last year.
Land prices, labour shortages and building code changes were identified as factors boosting costs for builders.
The non-residential building price index was up 4.9% from the third quarter of 2023.
Inflation/CPI
Edmonton’s annualized inflation rate was 2.7% in November, following a 2.9% year-over-year increase in October.
The consumer price index in November 2023 was up 2.2% from a year earlier.
Alberta Net Migration
Alberta’s population growth eased during the third quarter due to lower net migration but still led the country for the fifth consecutive quarter. Total net migration from all sources into Alberta amounted to 38,045 persons during July through September, representing a 32% decrease from the third quarter of last year.