February Housing Starts in New Brunswick

MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK--(Marketwire - March 8, 2011) - Residential construction in New Brunswick's urban centres was down in February according to figures released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Preliminary data⁽¹⁾ indicate that a total of 31 starts were recorded during the month compared to 40 starts for the same period in 2010.

"The decline in residential construction observed in February was essentially the result of no multiple units being started in either Fredericton or Moncton," said Claude Gautreau, CMHC's senior market analyst for New Brunswick. In February of this year, multiple starts were down 46 per cent to 12 units. Year-to date, multiple starts were limited to 16 units. In comparison, 159 multiple starts were recorded during the same period last year.

Single starts were essentially unchanged in February with a one unit increase to 19 starts. Year-to-date, single starts have declined five per cent to 74 units. "The relative stability in single-detached starts observed during the first two months of the year has been offset by the weakness in multiple starts," added Gautreau.

In urban centres across Canada, total housing starts recorded in February were down seven per cent to 9,900 units compared to last year's total of 10,637. Single-detached starts were down 27 per cent to 3,300 units, while multiple starts were up eight per cent to 6,600 units this year. In the Atlantic region, 269 new units were started in February 2011 compared to 453 units during the same period in 2010.

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.

⁽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 NEW BRUNSWICK SUMMARY

	2011	2010		YEAR-TO -DATE
			% Change			% Change
	FEB	FEB		2011	2010
	ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATIONS > 50,000
SAINT JOHN CMA
Single	6	5	20.0%	16	26	-38.5%
Multiple	12	0	-	12	65	-81.5%
TOTAL	18	5	##	28	91	-69.2%
MONCTON CMA
Single	2	5	-60.0%	10	20	-50.0%
Multiple	0	14	##	0	45	##
TOTAL	2	19	-89.5%	10	65	-84.6%
FREDERICTON CA
Single	2	7	-71.4%	31	29	6.9%
Multiple	0	8	##	4	48	-91.7%
TOTAL	2	15	-86.7%	35	77	-54.5%
	ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION >10,000*
ALL CENTRES
Single	19	18	5.6%	74	78	-5.1%
Multiple	12	22	-45.5%	16	159	-89.9%
TOTAL	31	40	-22.5%	90	237	-62.0%

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 (Saint John CMA, Moncton CMA, Fredericton CA, Bathurst CA, Campbellton CA, Edmundston CA, and Miramichi CA).

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