The new national forecast released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has put the information forward that Housing starts in Edmonton will sink by about 47.9 % this year as compared to last year.  

The single-detached houses started in the city will see a fall by 57.7% to 3,250 homes as compared to the 7,682 houses built last year. The fact was revealed by the federal agency's third-quarter housing market outlook.

The report also said that housing starts provincially in Alberta will fall by nearly one third in 2008 from last year.  

The total decline in Alberta’s total housing will be by 15,586 homes; and it will be a plunge of 32% to 32,750 from 48,336 in 2007.

The report also informed, “Single-detached starts will fall to a 12-year low in 2008 as builders cope with weaker net migration, an overhang of unoccupied new units, and relentless competition from an oversupplied resale market. Rapid price growth from previous years will also cut into demand.”

However, the latest forecast though not is really good, but still a bit better than the forecast which was put forward in May. In that forecast, it was projected that 214,650 units would be started in 2008. While in the present forecast, it has been said that there would be starting of 215,475 units this year, which is quite lower than 228,343 starts during the previous year.  

The chief economist of CMHC, Bob Dugan said, “Increased competition from the existing home market, coupled with the elimination of the pent-up demand that built up during the 1990s, will exert downward pressure on housing starts, which will decline to 194,000 units in 2009 from 215,000 in 2008.”

The year 2009 will see a change with Manitoba’s expectation to experience higher housing starts. The forecast says that presently Manitoba will see a plunge from 5,738 last year to 54,00 this year, though it is expected that there will be a rise to 5,500 in 2009.