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.

* v  f% n& T. F6 Q: o( IConstruction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.

$ g, t4 ]( l9 e7 O( tFor the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.
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& J3 W$ _" u! H% I: _“This comes despite a robust local economy that is showing impressive employment and income growth,” said senior market analyst Richard Goatcher.

7 A9 j/ X3 y$ b5 l“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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2 z( z! y3 A! l0 d5 A& v# s3 ySingle-detached starts in the Edmonton census metropolitan area fell 52 per cent year-over-year to 224 units in November.

Multiple-dwelling starts fell off even harder, by 91 per cent from November 2007 to 55 units.
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4 w' U2 R# f3 ]“The high volume of units still in progress suggests that further reductions are warranted in the coming year,” the CMHC said in a release.

! f: F- ^1 f% ~9 Y  wAcross 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.