Regarding the number of cranes and high-rises here, TBH, I'm happy with where we are at. We are in a boom, just a different kind of boom, and while I'm looking forward to a few more towers in the Beltline, I don't want Calgary to mimic Vancouver or Kelowna's style of housing starts.
Comparing Calgary to Kelowna for housing starts from Jan 2023 to July 2024, Calgary has about 5.5 times the housing starts, which is about the same ratio for the populations. The big difference is Kelowna is 80% apartments compared to Calgary's 46% percentage, but Calgary still has roughly 3 times as many apartment housing starts. If there are less cranes, then it means Calgary's apartment housing starts are geared towards smaller developments as opposed to towers. Which is my own preference (unless the towers are in the Beltline or near a BRT/LRT station). Also a huge number of multi family in Calgary is row home or duplex, which is almost non-existent in Kelowna.
Apts total housing starts
14308 --30757 ---47% (Calgary)
4538 ----5684 ------80% (Kelowna)