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“They’ve gone enough in terms of regulatory changes and we’re seeing a real slowdown in the overall housing market. The federal government wanted that to happen, but the question is how much … and what is that impact on the overall economy,” Murphy said Wednesday.

“Some people thought the market would come back(this spring). Well it hasn’t come back. It is a definite trend.”

Murphy notes that his organization never agreed with the perception that Canada had a housing bubble problem, but any concerns on that front have been dispelled following last summer’s action by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and the bank regulator to tighten mortgage rules and loan underwriting practices.

Since then, home resale activity has fallen 8.3% and housing starts by 15%. They are likely to fall further, the report says.

CAAMP predicts that by mid-2015, national home construction will fall to about 150,000 units annually, or about 25-30% less than the 205,000 average for 2011-2012. That will result in about 150,000 fewer construction and indirect jobs, such as in the real estate sector and support industries.

In the Toronto area, the tumble will be even more dramatic, with starts dropping 50% to about 22,000, leading to a loss of about 35,000 jobs.

Vancouver — the other municipality known for its hot housing market — starts are expected to fall by a third to about 13,000, resulting in a loss of about 7,500 jobs.

Quebec urban areas are projected to lose about 15,000 starts and 20,000 jobs.