 鲜花( 7)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Edmonton housing starts dip again
9 j% G- S- a. [0 _* V' K, K6 ]' A7 X6 `
3 f$ I+ K* H0 m9 q, Y$ b
v; {9 E' ~ A* `By Bill Mah, edmontonjournal.comMarch 9, 2009 11:02 AMComments (2)7 g; k/ k) \8 x8 ~! J
StoryPhotos ( 2 )
9 D& ?) ~# k3 u9 M7 W% {! w+ z5 h
More Images » A for sale sign is posted in front of a new homes in the Sunset Valley Estates on Ellerslie Road in Edmonton.Photograph by: Anne-Marie Jackson, Edmonton JournalEDMONTON – Housing starts fell again in the Edmonton region for February with no growth in activity foreseen until at least the summer, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said Monday.& B! R% `- Y. [5 F: ]
' [7 _5 ]% X1 p
Multiple-unit starts led the decline with a near-86-per-cent drop from February of last year, according to preliminary CMHC figures. Multi-unit starts across the Capital Region totalled 64 units last month compared to 449 started in the same month a year ago.
+ m0 |# T2 Z6 h6 K3 ?. u1 h! l" @0 X* K; t
“Developer unease over rising condo apartment inventories will cause multi-unit starts to be lower this year than last,” said Richard Goatcher, CMHC senior market analyst for Edmonton.
2 Q- m) y$ K; h- ^# n* d q1 U$ ?/ v/ S5 a
In the single-detached market, shovels went into the ground for 149 homes in February — a 39 per cent drop from the 243 units started a year ago.
1 {' t" g1 f4 b- Z% }& k @* _; V" U, O
CMHC predicts single starts to remain slow throughout much of 2009. Building activity won’t pick up over the previous year’s pace until after mid-2009 — provided new house inventories head lower. Goatcher said it will likely take until 2010 for notable year-over-year increases in single starts.
( v( a" o; m% C; \5 a0 R" i, H9 g0 m+ B6 y% v
Total housing starts in Alberta’s seven largest centres totalled 574 units in February, down from 1,867 a year ago, according to CMHC. Grande Prairie was the only city reporting a year-over-year increase in starts.
* o+ ?2 _" h' |: e
4 c4 |* x1 r! P( P( N! _4 |bmah@thejournal.canwest.com |
|