Edmonton is on pace to have the fewest new houses built this year since 1996, according to numbers released Wednesday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Statistics showed the number of single detached homes built in the first six months of 2008 is down 68 per cent from last year.

Construction of apartments and other multiple-family units is down 37 per cent.

CMHC housing analyst Richard Goatcher said the numbers aren't a surprise given a residential construction slowdown caused by diminished migration to Alberta and speculators selling a large number of properties.

"Market conditions change before the industry has a chance to slow down and so then they end up over-building," he said. "Then they have to go through this painful adjustment process that they've been going through now for the past 10-12 months."

The demand for houses is down only marginally, so once the excess capacity has been sold off, the pace of construction will increase in 2009, Goatcher predicted.

* Source: CBC