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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8 t/ F# T+ c/ n* L+ \  ~Construction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.
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* X5 d& z  O" @, B6 OFor the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.
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5 G( ~" m5 c7 a6 [% m9 F. X“This comes despite a robust local economy that is showing impressive employment and income growth,” said senior market analyst Richard Goatcher.

9 W- z5 S2 u- }2 f: v3 ^2 P; 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.”

Single-detached starts in the Edmonton census metropolitan area fell 52 per cent year-over-year to 224 units in November.

' {0 T+ u7 N: E8 kMultiple-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.

& E- M" f0 |) l9 H2 t2 k/ qAcross 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.