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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7 f8 \) J2 N" l- X$ |1 W" |Construction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.

- b+ d3 V1 f9 t6 AFor the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.
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! H5 n1 p1 Z. H5 _- x“This comes despite a robust local economy that is showing impressive employment and income growth,” said senior market analyst Richard Goatcher.

( O  j$ G' E; |' A0 r( q! R$ h4 C; o5 {9 A“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.”
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Single-detached starts in the Edmonton census metropolitan area fell 52 per cent year-over-year to 224 units in November.

7 U# {) t$ U* u6 FMultiple-dwelling starts fell off even harder, by 91 per cent from November 2007 to 55 units.
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  H. O7 P0 ?! q; k, h" I/ k) `( H* \“The high volume of units still in progress suggests that further reductions are warranted in the coming year,” the CMHC said in a release.

. n& y4 \& `. C0 T- mAcross 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.