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.
3 D" j, k/ m! L2 X$ w
Construction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.

, V* }4 G$ F) H1 W" bFor the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.
3 w* }$ A) Q8 Z4 |* Q9 x
! S# j& c' J, r/ v& q  M- x' u“This comes despite a robust local economy that is showing impressive employment and income growth,” said senior market analyst Richard Goatcher.

“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.”
5 z: T  R+ Z! \4 h$ C
: z" e/ D$ }* ~Single-detached starts in the Edmonton census metropolitan area fell 52 per cent year-over-year to 224 units in November.

! C( }* A" V" o6 v- p6 L4 o, w5 wMultiple-dwelling starts fell off even harder, by 91 per cent from November 2007 to 55 units.
$ b5 B5 f0 X6 M4 z- B* V
“The high volume of units still in progress suggests that further reductions are warranted in the coming year,” the CMHC said in a release.
; O& I6 @! Q6 a/ s; F1 V( F
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.