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Edmonton housing starts dip again
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By Bill Mah, edmontonjournal.comMarch 9, 2009 11:02 AMComments (2); e4 U. k* f: i! C, g
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" e6 v! {9 B% m9 x% V1 I1 { More Images » A for sale sign is posted in front of a new homes in the Sunset Valley Estates on Ellerslie Road in Edmonton.Photograph by: Anne-Marie Jackson, Edmonton JournalEDMONTON – Housing starts fell again in the Edmonton region for February with no growth in activity foreseen until at least the summer, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said Monday.6 Z; Z( y9 l; W: L$ c5 e" D6 {: a
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Multiple-unit starts led the decline with a near-86-per-cent drop from February of last year, according to preliminary CMHC figures. Multi-unit starts across the Capital Region totalled 64 units last month compared to 449 started in the same month a year ago.0 `. M& I$ I" b
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“Developer unease over rising condo apartment inventories will cause multi-unit starts to be lower this year than last,” said Richard Goatcher, CMHC senior market analyst for Edmonton.
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In the single-detached market, shovels went into the ground for 149 homes in February — a 39 per cent drop from the 243 units started a year ago.) M; Z* g; p+ Q5 x8 t6 J
* m8 w+ T' S- J6 q& w; _- \3 m9 RCMHC predicts single starts to remain slow throughout much of 2009. Building activity won’t pick up over the previous year’s pace until after mid-2009 — provided new house inventories head lower. Goatcher said it will likely take until 2010 for notable year-over-year increases in single starts.- K* b$ l4 x0 A0 e# L2 w9 P, Y8 r
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Total housing starts in Alberta’s seven largest centres totalled 574 units in February, down from 1,867 a year ago, according to CMHC. Grande Prairie was the only city reporting a year-over-year increase in starts.
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bmah@thejournal.canwest.com |
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