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 M4 P& h! S& }4 a3 XConstruction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.

- P1 N* N1 L5 P! m+ W% @9 ^0 Q  AFor 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.
& b  E* A0 K- k% s8 I9 n# _0 Y
5 ^. Y: n1 @2 B/ J$ N“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.”
  d  r! y7 n# c: R: X
Single-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.

8 e9 w& ?1 l( g/ ?“The high volume of units still in progress suggests that further reductions are warranted in the coming year,” the CMHC said in a release.
% T1 p9 ?6 y8 {* |
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.