New home construction got to a surprisingly strong start in 2016, so it’s no surprise that 2017 pales in comparison. There were just three housing starts in Grande Prairie last month, down from 85 in January 2016.
This year’s numbers are comparable to the first month of 2015, when work got started on just two new homes in the city. A year earlier, construction began on 23.
Housing starts have drastically declined along with the economy, and 2016 ended up down 35 per cent from the year before. When looking back at 2014, stats are down 68 per cent.