Edmonton sees huge drop in housing starts(ZT)

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EDMONTON - Housing starts in the Edmonton region for January fell by a staggering 63.9 per cent year-over-year as homebuilders downed tools because of weak sales and high inventories.

Starts of all types of homes fell across the census metropolitan area for the month to 413 from 1,145 units reported in January 2008, according to preliminary figures released Monday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

2 b- @% @7 K! m9 M7 _In the single-detached market, starts in the Edmonton region fell 29.7 per cent to 147 from 209. In Edmonton city, single starts dropped 19.6 per cent to 86.

; X9 `& t$ h' p- h! @& b“Provided new home inventories decline in the months ahead, we remain optimistic that a modest uptick in single-detached starts should occur during the second half of 2009,” said Richard Goatcher, CMHC’s senior Edmonton market analyst.
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In the multiple-family market, starts plunged 71.6 per cent to 266 units from 936 for the Edmonton CMA. In the city alone, the drop was 64.1 per cent, to 172 from 479 units.

January 2008 was last year’s strongest month for multi-family starts. Last year as a whole fell off by 44 per cent compared to 2007, but multiple units under construction still remain high by historic standards, Goatcher said.
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“Concerns over rising inventories, particularly condo apartments, will cause further reductions in multi-unit starts across Metro in the months ahead.”
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Total housing starts across Alberta fell by 61.7 per cent in January year-over-year to 836 from 2,185.
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: H+ g) M$ E/ g6 Z2 N) H# y& b$ ?Housing starts fell 11 per cent last month in Canada.

, t& H% r& o, {2 h2 eConstruction began on 153,500 units in January, on a seasonally adjusted annual rate, down from 172,200 the previous month, CMHC said.
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4 u9 M( d2 q6 p5 oUrban housing starts dropped 15.6 per cent to 126,700 units last month, with single units falling 20.2 per cent to 50,000 and multiple dwellings declining 12.1 per cent to 76,700.
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“To a certain extent, the decline in housing starts coincides with recent developments in the existing home market,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist.

5 G# Q& ?+ M% g7 }“Reduced sales and increased listings in the existing home market have led to reduced spillover demand in the new home market."
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: z; c" u) D8 Q# _All regions of Canada saw declines in housing starts in January, CMHC said.
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Urban construction fell 8.6 per cent in Atlantic Canada, while Quebec experienced a 1.4 per cent drop, Ontario a 14.6 per cent decline, the Prairies 30.3 per cent and British Columbia 29.1 per cent.
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Meanwhile, there were 26,800 units stared in rural areas.

2 ?( V8 F! i, u0 Y4 FCharmaine Buskas, economics strategist at TD Securities, said Canada’s housing market “is under a great deal of pressure.”

! l+ [$ ^. k" l“The combination of an increasingly weak labour market and lingering concern about the state of the economy has left consumers unwilling to take the plunge into the housing market,” she said.
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+ ~& I# F# q- z2 z, ^1 ~! v) [: t! L“The correction in Canada’s housing market continues to unfold and it appears the pace is a bit quicker than we had originally anticipated. In the face of continued economic weakness, housing may not see a rebound until early 2010.”

+ }4 O  C+ R  x# b1 I! b' [8 rbmah@thejournal.canwest.com

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