CASTANET:
New home construction in the Central and North Okanagan was off considerably during the first month of 2009. Overall housing starts in Kelowna fell 94 per cent in January compared to the same month last year. In Vernon, new home construction starts fell 85 per cent in January of 2009. Figures were released Monday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Housing starts in Kelowna totalled 17 in January, 2009 while in Vernon, that number was just five. That compares to 277 in Kelowna and 34 in Vernon in January, 2008.
"Demand for new homes has cooled off as economies here in Kelowna and across North America experience slower growth," says CMHC Markey Analyst, Paul Fabri. "Rising inventories of complete and unsold units and strong price competition from a well supplied existing home market have, in turn, led to fewer housing starts. Also, housing starts were unusually high last January. Fabri says he expects new home construction of moderate from the exceptionally high levels of activity seen over the past several years. Housing starts in Penticton stayed the same in January while Kamloops saw a decrease of just five per cent.
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