St. John's Area October Housing Starts

ST. JOHN'S , Nov. 9 /CNW/ - Urban housing starts decreased during the month of October, according to preliminary data(1) released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). October's housing starts totaled 143 throughout the St. John's area versus 200 starts in October of 2008. An additional 22 starts were recorded in other urban areas across the province, for a total of 165 provincial starts compared to 227 the previous October.

"October's housing starts in metro slowed relative to last year's accelerated pace, down close to 30 per cent, with year-to-date starts off 11 per cent," said Chris Janes , senior market analyst with CMHC in Newfoundland and Labrador. "Residential construction activity has trended downward for the last three months compared to the same period last year, when elevated demand produced record numbers of new homes," added Janes.

For Canada's urban centres, total housing starts fell 19 per cent with 14,090 recorded in October compared to 17,389 during October of 2008. Single-detached starts increased two per cent to 6,536, while multiple starts of 7,554 represent a 31 per cent decline from a year ago. Throughout Atlantic Canada , there were 788 urban housing starts posted versus 950 the previous October, a decline of 17 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.


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                   PRELIMINARY URBAN MONTHLY HOUSING STARTS
                       NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR SUMMARY
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                      2009    2008                 YEAR-TO-DATE
                   ---------------  % Change      ---------------  % Change
                       OCT     OCT                 2009      2008
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           ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATIONS GREATER THAN 50,000
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    ST. JOHN'S CMA
    Single             144     192     -25.0%     1,129     1,194      -5.4%
    Multiple            21      35     -40.0%       197       294     -33.0%
    TOTAL              165     227     -27.3%     1,326     1,488     -10.9%
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            ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION GREATER THAN 10,000
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    ALL CENTRES*
    Single             132     165     -20.0%     1,348     1,443      -6.6%
    Multiple            11      35     -68.6%       249       364     -31.6%
    TOTAL              143     200     -28.5%     1,597     1,807     -11.6%
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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

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

For further information: Chris Janes, Senior Market Analyst - NL, CMHC Market Analysis Centre, [phone], Cell: [phone], [email protected]; visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642