Edmonton housing starts dropped in February
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Housing starts in Edmonton took a huge drop in February, reflecting a trend across the country, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported Monday.
In February, there were 213 housing starts in the metropolitan Edmonton area, compared to 692 in the same month in 2008. This represents a drop of 69 per cent.
The drop in multi-family units was even more pronounced. Only 64 were started last month, compared to 449 in February 2008, representing a change of 86 per cent.
“There is still a fairly large number of units under construction in multi-family, in some respects that supply is going to remain quite adequate, going forward,” said Richard Goatcher, a senior market analyst for CMHC in Edmonton.
The decline is the same in nearly every city across the province, Goatcher said.
“Looking at our numbers and comparing them with Calgary, we’re pretty much having a similar year in terms of new housing for the year-to-date,” Goatcher said.
“You know our numbers are are down by two-thirds. Calgary, they’re down by about 72 per cent.”
Grande Prairie was the only Alberta city that bucked the trend. Forty-eight single and multi-family homes were started in February, compared to 31 in February 2008.
Source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
