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.
( @( a* s6 _' r6 c0 u
! `: y9 a* [2 d1 c: O- MConstruction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.

: K' D/ f: q7 d8 U# w7 U8 `For the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.
* g" r8 m% i! T! i: {5 T( ~
“This comes despite a robust local economy that is showing impressive employment and income growth,” said senior market analyst Richard Goatcher.
! l' U# o$ S9 x7 M) p& A
“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.”
1 }% D# v# e& w( r% P$ N
8 u3 _+ v0 q" VSingle-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.
  j, C  G, {. ~! w9 {$ z  F* R
# k* K9 S$ x- [. T“The high volume of units still in progress suggests that further reductions are warranted in the coming year,” the CMHC said in a release.
2 P. i) I0 ]4 m( {5 @/ N/ T& G
5 }* A3 {4 f0 s  wAcross 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.