Edmonton housing starts fall almost 75 per cent

vista

EDMONTON — The number of housing starts in the Edmonton region for November tumbled 74 per cent from the same time last year, said the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
/ K/ X  ?, u& l; M
& I% n8 P/ H) ?0 Z# @3 P; JConstruction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.
- H9 ]( w% T3 w+ |8 z4 Q4 S
For the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.

“This comes despite a robust local economy that is showing impressive employment and income growth,” said senior market analyst Richard Goatcher.
3 O1 f+ N1 Y1 f0 i" S' W4 A: W
“The home building industry has been impacted by a slowdown in net migration into the province since mid-2007 and concerns locally about elevated new and existing home inventories.”

6 u2 u$ e. W6 l9 m- S1 uSingle-detached starts in the Edmonton census metropolitan area fell 52 per cent year-over-year to 224 units in November.

Multiple-dwelling starts fell off even harder, by 91 per cent from November 2007 to 55 units.
( K- A- u# m. n) h' v& h) {
" z$ [$ h  T8 x2 L“The high volume of units still in progress suggests that further reductions are warranted in the coming year,” the CMHC said in a release.
* S+ a1 ^  K# u' \$ n0 _5 x
Across Alberta, total housing starts in the seven largest cities dropped by 49 per cent year-over-year despite increased building in Wood Buffalo and Lethbridge.