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.

8 u* J" N" r8 i# Z  _Construction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.

$ ]! t* }% c6 E! k/ [- j, R$ \For the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.
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/ I- p( ?! d& }0 t, w: D1 j“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.”

7 _3 e* W2 z$ M- B- e& W3 j% p  LSingle-detached starts in the Edmonton census metropolitan area fell 52 per cent year-over-year to 224 units in November.

  A/ F+ v( z6 m/ K4 w5 [) DMultiple-dwelling starts fell off even harder, by 91 per cent from November 2007 to 55 units.

9 [  L6 S# _- p“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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9 X) a: S5 |' 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.