March Housing Starts in Halifax

HALIFAX, April 12 /CNW/ - New residential construction in Halifax increased last month compared to March 2009. According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC's) preliminary data(1) released today for Halifax, there were 111 housing starts last month, 25 per cent more than the 89 starts recorded in March 2009. Single starts increased from 40 to 81 units while multiple starts decreased from 49 to 30 units.

"After a strong February for apartment starts, there were no new apartment buildings that began construction in March," said Matthew Gilmore, senior market analyst with CMHC's Atlantic Business Centre. "Continued strength in single-detached construction helped offset the reduced levels of apartment and other multiple unit construction. Single starts reached the highest level for the month of March since 2004 when there were 83 units started in March of that year," Gilmore added.

In urban centres across Canada in March there were 11,371 total housing starts, 32 per cent more than the 8,605 starts recorded in March of 2009. There were 5,536 single-detached starts last month, an increase of more than 100 per cent compared to March of 2009. Multi-residential starts were down four per cent to 5,835 in March of 2010. In Atlantic Canada, there were 311 urban housing starts posted compared to 244 in March the previous year, an increase of 27 per cent.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable homes. CMHC also provides reliable, impartial and up-to-date housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making vital decisions.

    
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    (1) Figures for the most recent month are preliminary and subject to
        revisions due to corrections or updates from quarterly enumeration or
        sampling results.
    

For more information, visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1 800 668-2642.

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                   PRELIMINARY URBAN MONTHLY HOUSING STARTS
                             NOVA SCOTIA SUMMARY
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                             2010    2009            YEAR-TO-DATE
                             ------------  % Change  ------------  % Change
                              MAR     MAR            2010    2009
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           ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATIONS GREATER THAN 50,000
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    HALIFAX CMA
    Single                     81      40       (XX)  216     104       (XX)
    Multiple                   30      49     -38.8%  250     170      47.1%
    TOTAL                     111      89      24.7%  466     274      70.1%
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    CAPE BRETON RGM
    Single                      2       6     -66.7%   12      14     -14.3%
    Multiple                    4       0         -    10      10       0.0%
    TOTAL                       6       6       0.0%   22      24      -8.3%
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           ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION GREATER THAN 10,000
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    ALL CENTRES(X)
    Single                    118      66      78.8%  329     165      99.4%
    Multiple                   43      55     -21.8%  285     200      42.5%
    TOTAL                     161     121      33.1%  614     365      68.2%
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    Figures for the most recent month are preliminary and subject to
    revisions due to corrections or updates from quarterly enumeration or
    sampling results.

    *  Includes all centres with a total population of more than 10,000
         (Halifax CMA, Cape Breton RGM, Truro CA, Kentville CA and New
         Glasgow CA, Chester MD CA, East Hants MD CA, Kings Subd. A SC CA,
         Lunenburg MD CA, Queens RGM CA, West Hants MD CA, Yarmouth MD CA).
    (xx) Indicates changes in excess of 100% which are not reported due to
         volatility resulting from small absolute numbers.
    

For further information: Matthew Gilmore, Senior Market Analyst, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, [phone], [email protected]