There are many words used to describe the Canadian
housing sector at the moment, including “bubble,” “overheated”
and “dangerous.” Most of those worrisome terms
are in reference to residential markets in Toronto and
Vancouver. But here in Alberta, the best word to describe
the housing market is: balanced.

In February, home builders started construction on 33,337
new houses throughout our province. This figure is
seasonally adjusted and reported at annualized rates (i.e.,
the number of homes that would be built in one calendar
year if the current pace continues for 12 months). That’s up
from the 29,300 total in January, and mostly on par with
activity over the last year.

But over the last five years in Alberta, home builders have
been on a bit of a rollercoaster...