St. John's Area March Housing Starts

ST. JOHN'S, April 12 /CNW/ - Urban housing starts increased during the month of March, according to preliminary data(1) released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). March's housing starts totaled 75 throughout the St. John's area versus 45 starts in March of 2009. There were six additional starts recorded outside the St. John's area, for a total of 81 provincial urban starts compared to 47 last March. For the first quarter of 2010, there was a record 246 urban housing starts posted in the St. John's region versus 214 during the same period in 2009.

"March's strong new home construction activity was due to a combination of continued demand and another unseasonably mild winter month," said Chris Janes, senior market analyst with CMHC in Newfoundland and Labrador. "Positive economic and demographic factors continue to support residential construction activity throughout the St. John's region and the first three months of 2010 indicate a solid start to the year," added Janes.

For Canada's urban centres, total housing starts increased 32 per cent with 11,371 recorded in March compared to 8,605 during March of 2009. Single-detached starts increased 117 per cent to 5,536, while multiple starts of 5,835 represent a four per cent decline from a year ago. Throughout Atlantic Canada, there were 311 urban housing starts posted versus 244 the previous March, 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
                        NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR 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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    ST. JOHN'S CMA
    Single                  60      39       53.8%    199     166       19.9%
    Multiple                15       6        (XX)     47      48       -2.1%
    TOTAL                   75      45       66.7%    246     214       15.0%
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             ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION (greater than) 10,000
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    ALL CENTRES*
    Single                  61      41       48.8%    203     174       16.7%
    Multiple                20       6        (XX)     59      50       18.0%
    TOTAL                   81      47       72.3%    262     224       17.0%
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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
         (St. John's CMA, Bay Roberts CA, Corner Brook CA, Gander CA, Grand
         Falls/Windsor CA)

    (XX) Indicates changes in excess of 100% which are not reported due to
         volatility resulting from small absolute numbers.
    

For further information: on this release: Chris Janes, Senior Market Analyst - NL, CMHC Market Analysis Centre, [phone], Cell: [phone], [email protected]