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.

9 G  Q  C8 ^; TConstruction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.
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1 C0 o8 W8 z4 |+ ?( e* V+ hFor the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.

: I7 L8 I2 w) m# d1 }“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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0 p$ D% ~0 J, ~( N8 K8 \“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.”
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# c% M6 \2 z$ _1 I. w$ x6 MSingle-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.
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# {0 d+ H) j, L. v“The high volume of units still in progress suggests that further reductions are warranted in the coming year,” the CMHC said in a release.

, w  }' y2 W, i  t/ ^4 i, r& gAcross 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.