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.

3 J3 I- a) U% n0 YConstruction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.

, ]9 ?5 y5 j1 _4 FFor the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.

“This comes despite a robust local economy that is showing impressive employment and income growth,” said senior market analyst Richard Goatcher.
$ v; t( z2 Y. s2 l: J' P# S' e
7 ^  ?4 p( S; X; U( F“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.”

' m) l, q4 s: ^& e; l- w4 LSingle-detached starts in the Edmonton census metropolitan area fell 52 per cent year-over-year to 224 units in November.

* G0 M, j3 L, e+ {/ y* M! q+ FMultiple-dwelling starts fell off even harder, by 91 per cent from November 2007 to 55 units.
' p, t7 P* X* T/ s" w
“The high volume of units still in progress suggests that further reductions are warranted in the coming year,” the CMHC said in a release.
, z- E, N& B& h  N3 L+ {7 a
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.