Calgary continues to grow at fast pace

According to the lastest census figures, Calgary's population now sits at 1,120,225 people.

It is an increase of 29,289 residents from April 2011.

At 2.68 per cent, this year’s rate of population growth is similar to the level seen in 2007 when Calgary went through a major boom.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi says what's interesting about the numbers are where people are choosing to live.

He notes that 42 per cent of all housing starts are now in established communities.

"What we're really seeing is that there is an enormous market demand for quite a shift — things like row houses and duplexes, and so on, in addition to highrise condo buildings," said Nenshi. 

"And in particularly we see a lot of midrise buildings, a lot of four and five story kinds of buildings, which a lot of folks in urban planning would say is the sweet spot for multi family."

Nenshi also says the population growth is due mostly to people moving here from elsewhere and not because of any baby boom.

He says those kinds of demographics are essential for planning and policy.

Community Growth 

Panorama Hills continues to lead the way in community growth with a population increase of 2,396. 

Other communities experiencing growth of more than 1,000 residents include Auburn Bay (1,424), Skyview Ranch (1,185) and Cranston (1,026). 

Five communities that grew by more than 50 per cent are:

• CFB – Currie (an additional 148 residents)
• Skyview Ranch (an additional 1,185 residents)
• Mahogany (an additional 478 residents)
• Walden (an additional 341 residents)
• Sage Hill (an additional 764 residents) 

Net Migration and Natural Increase 

From April 2011 to April 2012, 19,658 more people moved to Calgary than moved away from Calgary.

Natural increase, or the result of births over deaths, continued to be a source of growth at 9,631 — which is down slightly from last year.    

Housing  

The number of housing units, both existing and under construction, increased by 8,387 to 459,339.   

The number of vacant dwelling units in Calgary decreased by 3,564 to 12,616 in 2012.

The overall vacancy rate in the city is 2.82 per cent, down 0.87 per cent from 2011.  

There are now 434,474 occupied dwellings and, of this number, 69.28 per cent are owner-occupied.