Canada Mortgage and Housing released their monthly Housing Outlook report today. Last November there were 111 single family homes started in the city of Edmonton, this year the number was 397 – a huge increase. For the year as a whole single family home starts are up by 73% in Edmonton. Of course you have to keep in mind construction was extremely slow in Edmonton in 2008, but builders are certainly ramping up production.
“With both new and resale inventories down substantially from lastfall, builders are ramping up activity in preparation for the springselling season that lies ahead,” noted Richard Goatcher, CMHC’s SeniorMarket Analyst based in Edmonton. “The region’s multi-family builders have now produced back-to-backmonths of over 300 starts, a feat not recorded since May and June of2008,” added Goatcher.
Here are the highlights from the report:
- Total housing starts across Greater Edmonton have increased on a year-over-year basis for the fifth consecutive month.
- In the Greater Edmonton area there were 938 units started in November compared with 279 units in November 2008.
- For the year-to-date, total housing starts have amounted to 5,505 units throughout the Capital region, down from 6,291 units reported during the first 11 months of 2008.
- Single-detached starts in the Edmonton area totalled 605 units in November.
- To the end of November, home builders started work on 3,449 single-detached homes, representing an increase of 43 per cent from the 2,419 units started during January to November 2008.
- Multiple unit starts increased to 333 units in November compared with 55 units in November of last year. Multiple starts have decreased by 47 per cent so far this year to 2,056 units compared with 3,872 multiple units reported after 11 months in 2008.
Are Edmonton home buyers feeling as confident as Edmonton home builders? We'll have to wait and see!
