Optimism in Edmonton market
The Calgary Herald – Saturday, March 7, 2009

It's the sweet smell of optimism. At a time when single-family home builders in the Edmonton area are fighting a lack of consumer interest--along with competition from resale housing--CMHC expects a slight increase in construction starts later this year. "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," says Richard Goatcher, senior market analyst for CMHC in Edmonton. Builders started work on 147 detached homes in January, down about 30 per cent from the 209 foundations poured during the first month of 2008, says CMHC. "Government expenditures on infrastructure and capital spending will help to buffer the region from the economic slowdown impacting much of North America," he says.