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.
1 }  f9 y' ~/ q* V/ n$ S
Construction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.

, g$ r! V% r1 G$ ]1 XFor the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.
( K! u, e- V5 b: e) v7 X! g1 t. i
, p& n/ j0 D. \# q3 T1 M“This comes despite a robust local economy that is showing impressive employment and income growth,” said senior market analyst Richard Goatcher.
* }: u2 Y+ O' W% d) ~
4 e8 I" E6 w7 R6 ~: p“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.”

Single-detached starts in the Edmonton census metropolitan area fell 52 per cent year-over-year to 224 units in November.
" G! }. L" Q' H( U3 F1 ]
+ u/ b! W  s# Y8 oMultiple-dwelling starts fell off even harder, by 91 per cent from November 2007 to 55 units.
1 k2 |; c  x% }9 C5 E6 R" @9 i0 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.
* y2 I6 \3 i3 p- t
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.