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.
. _# n" q2 H5 R# s4 t5 A9 y
Construction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.
0 G- c# ^0 c' b* n5 |
For 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.
8 H/ [! w& E4 Q
“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.”
8 u# H6 l8 t: ^! N' M+ M
6 D. |: {- x. {. }$ p6 aSingle-detached starts in the Edmonton census metropolitan area fell 52 per cent year-over-year to 224 units in November.
7 @' c  m7 m2 E* U4 m
  |* g5 a+ v: Q+ D% lMultiple-dwelling starts fell off even harder, by 91 per cent from November 2007 to 55 units.
) I' `1 }5 `! R: c+ N
1 P" }' }6 d5 I( v; c: 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.
( `0 K6 L' b1 L0 g  O2 c
  ~; D6 M, D% J4 r' E; e' 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.