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.
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; S: m3 B) m; I$ u0 [% DConstruction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.
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6 n& _9 B$ m6 ?  H5 M" `For the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.

$ m8 R& y7 c! p8 \“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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“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.”

Single-detached starts in the Edmonton census metropolitan area fell 52 per cent year-over-year to 224 units in November.
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" d5 s$ N5 k0 V) d6 U4 a6 oMultiple-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.
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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.