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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$ i0 n8 e/ o, k/ S4 P* p& t2 GConstruction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.
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7 G: S, T( L3 e8 a# H. x- d9 V+ dFor 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.

9 r+ g( J) |& X' W/ `7 k# e) ]“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.
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Multiple-dwelling starts fell off even harder, by 91 per cent from November 2007 to 55 units.
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“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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: n' e# z% n. s3 `; r" FAcross 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.