New home starts numbers for October were released this week by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., and things are continuing to look up.

Total starts tallied a second consecutive month of year-over-year increases hitting 732 on the strength of the single-family market.

Single starts recorded their fourth month in a row of year-over-year increases, reaching 502 homes, 38% ahead of last October and bringing the total number of single starts this year to 3,612, only 4% below last year at this time and putting builders on course to surpass last year’s total.

“Builders continued to increase starts in response to declining inventory levels and higher new home sales,” says Richard Cho, CMHC’s senior market analyst for Calgary.

“The recent up-tick in construction activity is expected to continue in the months ahead.”

The multi-family market turned in its second-best month of the year at 230 units, a mere 2% below last October’s starts, although year-to-date starts are still 54% below last year’s levels.

“The year-over-year decline in multi-family starts, which consists of semi-detached, row and apartment units, is less pronounced since we are no longer comparing to the elevated construction levels earlier in 2008,” says Cho.

There is no chance multi starts will come close to last year’s production at the end of the year, which was 7,051 units, the bulk being apartment-style condos.

To the end of October, multi starts were at 1,217.

While October’s stats provide a nice snapshot of the market, the bigger picture is more interesting, for those in the business and those who just like to watch.

Here’s an inside look at the single-family market.

The average absorbed price for a new single-family home in October was $505,197. (CMHC measures the price when the new owners move in and it is a price that was negotiated from six to nine months prior to move-in).

Last month’s average compares to $589,265 in October last year and is lower because builders sold off standing inventory at low prices, combined with first-time buyers purchasing lower priced entry level homes earlier this year.

And the builders sold a lot of inventory — more than 300 homes.

To the end of October, builders completed 3,421 new homes, but over those 10 months, new owners took possession of 3,725 new homes.

There are 2,739 singles under construction and no doubt some are spec homes to be added to inventories, which is good news for buyers wanting quick possession.

Construction intentions are strong — 971 building permits for single-family homes were issued by the City of Calgary in September and October, bringing the year-to-date total to 3,282 permits, well ahead of the 2,852 permits issued to this time last year.

Builders are reporting strong single-family homes sales for October, which bodes well for building permits issued this month, which is good news for people in the industry (and the places they spend their money).