Edmonton housing starts fall almost 75 per cent

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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.

, c0 K0 C. {$ b( A* m) i6 y* TConstruction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.

% M) b9 f4 u0 [6 J$ y& Q1 n. LFor the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.

" M% n, b. [" D+ N“This comes despite a robust local economy that is showing impressive employment and income growth,” said senior market analyst Richard Goatcher.
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; [( q3 e8 a5 _  b“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 u7 {8 A) O) ~' H3 W$ nSingle-detached starts in the Edmonton census metropolitan area fell 52 per cent year-over-year to 224 units in November.

& R# |9 E9 |3 BMultiple-dwelling starts fell off even harder, by 91 per cent from November 2007 to 55 units.
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“The high volume of units still in progress suggests that further reductions are warranted in the coming year,” the CMHC said in a release.

! j( m- z5 |! R# Z  R/ I2 kAcross 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.