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.

5 G4 U! r- E5 C) H8 B, u; S0 s# Y0 ]Construction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.

* a4 U7 b/ m4 U( E  EFor the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.
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3 v2 ~0 [8 Y: c( G“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.”

* q& E5 w/ M2 C5 `8 {  p6 G1 DSingle-detached starts in the Edmonton census metropolitan area fell 52 per cent year-over-year to 224 units in November.

3 y' J: T( o/ ^/ p9 h. I2 a+ q8 p7 fMultiple-dwelling starts fell off even harder, by 91 per cent from November 2007 to 55 units.
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  h3 S4 s3 B1 q( ~) P. A6 }“The high volume of units still in progress suggests that further reductions are warranted in the coming year,” the CMHC said in a release.

. y& `" U. C  L- s2 TAcross 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.