CMHC expects housing starts to drop 7 per cent.

This is from the Star. Saskatchewan rather than Alberta looks to be one of the leaders in housing starts this year. Actually, Alberta could probably be well served by a slowing growth rate since it needs to catch up in infrastructural development. The Saskatchewan boom is discussed at Canada.com.

CMHC expects housing starts to drop 7%
Feb 04, 2008 03:35 PM THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA – Housing starts will fall by about seven per cent this year but will remain strong as 2008 should be the seventh straight year with starts above 200,000 units, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. predicted Monday.
The federal housing agency said it expects 211,700 housing starts this year, off from 228,343 in 2007.
"Despite some global financial instability with regards to the U.S. housing market, Canada continues to experience robust employment levels, ongoing income gains and low mortgage rates," Bob Dugan, chief economist for CMHC, said in a statement.
This has strongly supported Canada's housing markets, he said.
"However, housing starts are expected to decrease in 2008 mainly due to recent increases in house prices, which will push mortgage carrying costs higher for home buyers."
Existing home sales, as measured by the Multiple Listing Service, are expected to fall by 3.9 per cent to 499,650 units in 2008, while 2009 will see an additional decrease to 488,300.
Last year, such sales increased by 7.6 per cent over 2006 to about 520,000 units.
As most resale markets move toward more balanced conditions, growth in the average MLS price is forecast to slow to 5.2 per cent in 2008 and 3.8 per cent in 2009.
Last year, the growth in the average MLS price remained high at 10.6 per cent, mainly because of continued strong price pressures in Canada's western provinces.