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.
( s/ a& L3 f' A! B$ \6 @  L
Construction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.

* s% ~& }# p, L, l! ^$ p' yFor the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.
. _9 ]* \! a' ~1 N
6 y; @" M: H9 |  e) C1 w“This comes despite a robust local economy that is showing impressive employment and income growth,” said senior market analyst Richard Goatcher.
/ m. o* G" s* J9 [
“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.”

# S  w5 c6 s* D" Y1 x6 DSingle-detached starts in the Edmonton census metropolitan area fell 52 per cent year-over-year to 224 units in November.

" l0 z8 s* \2 n- V; w- N8 |Multiple-dwelling starts fell off even harder, by 91 per cent from November 2007 to 55 units.
3 `: I5 q" R) _' Y3 D, [7 a
“The high volume of units still in progress suggests that further reductions are warranted in the coming year,” the CMHC said in a release.
/ G. x0 Y4 _6 t( b* t. m
/ g" ~$ K6 P3 i& A, M5 w$ k9 aAcross 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.