The number of new homes that started construction in March in the Calgary and Edmonton regions soared, according to new data released Wednesday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

The federal agency reported that housing starts in the Calgary census metropolitan area of 376 in the single-detached sector were up 102 per cent from a year ago while they rose by 44 per cent to 374 units in the Edmonton census metropolitan area.

In the ‘all other’ category which includes condos, starts of 568 in the Calgary CMA were up 70 per cent year-over-year while in the Edmonton CMA they increased by 232 per cent to 863.

Nationally, the trend in housing starts was 204,717 units in March 2020, compared to 209,109 units in February 2020, said the CMHC, adding that the trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

“The national trend in housing starts declined in March, likely indicating that the COVID-19 pandemic has begun to impact residential construction activity,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist, in a news release. “Activity in Toronto and Montréal trended lower, reflecting broader declines in their respective provinces. While Vancouver registered an up-tick, it was not sufficient to offset an overall decline in British Columbia. Activity trended lower in the Atlantic region, but conditions were mixed in the Prairies, as lower activity in Saskatchewan was offset by higher activity in Alberta and Manitoba.”

The CMHC said the standalone monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas in Canada was 195,174 units in March, a decrease of 7.3 per cent from 210,574 units in February. The SAAR of urban starts also decreased by 7.3 per cent in March to 182,553 units. Multiple urban starts decreased by 13.4 per cent to 124,073 units in March while single-detached urban starts increased by 8.8 per cent to 58,480 units.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 12,621 units.