Expert Panel
Scott Fash Executive Director BILD Alberta
What are the biggest challenges the Edmonton new home industry ahead of 2022? Supply chain issues? Covid? Rising inflation? How will the industry cope? With an increase in construction activity, our members have had to overcome many supply obstacles and skilled labour shortages. The ripple effect of this unanticipated activity has extended into many approval timelines and registrations. Members will continue to find solutions and press forward until these challenges are resolved. How can the BILD Alberta help builders/developers in overcoming these challenges? There is little that can be done from an advocacy perspective to fix the supply chain woes, but the provincial and local associations across Alberta are working every day and are being successful in streamlining approval processes and preserving our province’s housing affordability. Was the growth the industry enjoyed last year a surprise? What were the lessons learned from last year? A key lesson learned is the importance of housing inventory. In the past, there have been concerns that Alberta has too much housing inventory. This year alone our inventory of new homes decreased substantially yet we have not witnessed the erosion in affordability that so many other jurisdictions have.
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Edmonton Builder & Developer Annual 2022
Do you see any growth in the industry next year? Is there a particular sector (single family, row homes, etc) where you can see growth? Looking forward to 2022, we are hopeful many of these challenges are behind us. While difficult for us to predict, we anticipate stable construction years ahead as members prepare to rebuild a healthy inventory without oversaturating the market. Do you foresee growth to continue? What are the factors do you think that will affect the decision to buy a new home next year? We are extremely optimistic in the housing markets across Alberta. We anticipate immigration to return to pre-pandemic levels and Alberta has once again become a destination of choice due to our housing affordability and positive economic outlook.
