Edmonton housing starts fall almost 75 per cent

vista

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.
+ P/ x3 M$ H: E/ E7 ^
Construction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.
5 d4 x" b% E9 c( t) G
For the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.
  |* t; }' F* Q) ~) {
3 B. |* f$ I' o/ Q2 i  a“This comes despite a robust local economy that is showing impressive employment and income growth,” said senior market analyst Richard Goatcher.

$ z5 {5 |; P( `1 q* W/ O“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.

Multiple-dwelling starts fell off even harder, by 91 per cent from November 2007 to 55 units.
. v4 S) V" l/ O7 Z. `& Q
) ]6 B4 `% M4 G: \5 A4 A“The high volume of units still in progress suggests that further reductions are warranted in the coming year,” the CMHC said in a release.

Across 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.