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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1 M  B6 k/ `( g, i0 t. U' [Construction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.
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0 x4 h' _/ T% y5 s% L' [6 `For the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.

* o5 t2 L" c6 I6 p6 P4 s2 U: y, `“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.”

; p+ D- n# o0 O' j% RSingle-detached starts in the Edmonton census metropolitan area fell 52 per cent year-over-year to 224 units in November.
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$ n, Q8 E' S# R9 t) q+ eMultiple-dwelling starts fell off even harder, by 91 per cent from November 2007 to 55 units.
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7 ?4 b/ K$ `8 c0 t7 n1 @0 t“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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7 B: X- s( H: f' DAcross 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.