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.

2 }- k2 r0 Z* c3 U4 ZConstruction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released today.

" H5 |( C% M; t2 h+ w9 ~2 J4 TFor the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.

; w, J0 h) F7 z  N% p; b/ h4 `( w“This comes despite a robust local economy that is showing impressive employment and income growth,” said senior market analyst Richard Goatcher.

6 N% L: b! L" }& I' f' J, q, Q8 n“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.

. D. Z1 y0 X. e$ t8 aMultiple-dwelling starts fell off even harder, by 91 per cent from November 2007 to 55 units.

“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.