Wood Buffalo the only region to have increase in housing starts from last year

UncleSam

Wood Buffalo only region to have increase in housing starts from last year
! B" m1 n2 l: E# _& RPosted 3 days ago
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By ROLAND CILLIERS
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( U( B0 [" F5 i$ IToday staff


Wood Buffalo is bucking the downward housing trend with more homes started in January of this year than in January 2008.

( b  L( j+ o$ zWood Buffalo experienced a 12.3 per cent increase in total housing starts this January versus last, while all other major metropolitan areas in Alberta had a double-digit decrease in the percentage of houses started in the same period — according to statistics released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
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In Wood Buffalo, January 2008 had 65 single-detached homes started and in January 2009 only 35 were started. However, the region saw growth in multiple-family house starts with 38 multiple-family homes started in January of this year while in 2008 in the same month none were started.

Richard Cho, a market-analyst with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, said the increase in housing starts doesn’t necessarily mean the local house construction market is stronger than it is in the rest of the province.

! J) v( G  z' N4 ^& [3 _“Multi-family is probably not the best indicator of housing activity because those tend to be more volatile because some months you might have no starts and others you might have hundreds,” said Cho. “The process of getting a multi-family off the ground is a little more expensive there’s more planning involved in building a multi-family unit as compared to a single-detached unit.”
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Overall, Alberta saw a 61.7 per cent decrease. That represents 2,185 homes being started in January last year and only 836 started this year.

“The economy is slowing down, buyers are more cautious about making a purchase, which is in turn affecting demand. Builders see that and are inclined to pull back from their starts,” said Cho.

Grande Prairie saw the biggest decrease in housing starts with a 78.2 per cent total reduction. That represents 43 less houses being started this year than in January of last year.


  k! s5 D8 I1 C! u8 n& Q/ Y“It’s also the same story as the last couple of months. High inventory and strong competition from the resale market are also factors that are weighing in on builders decisions whether to start a home or not,” said Cho. “So I think that they are going to be waiting for those levels to fall to more manageable conditions.”