January Housing Starts Unchanged in the St. Catharines-Niagara CMA

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 8, 2012) - New residential construction in the St. Catharines-Niagara CMA remained unchanged last month compared to January 2011 according to preliminary data released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). There were 38 housing starts in both January 2011 and 2012.

"Growth in single-detached construction in January reflects confidence in the quality of jobs created through 2011 in the Health Care, Finance, and Public sectors. The creation of high quality jobs in conjunction with a low interest rate environment enhances the affordability of a new single-detached home," said Alexander Bonnyman, Market Analyst with CMHC.

January housing starts in the St. Catharines-Niagara CMA saw Niagara Falls capture a higher proportion of the CMA's single-detached starts than in 2011 due to price pressures in St. Catharines. Niagara-on-the-Lake also saw substantial growth in single-detached starts leading to a concentration of January 2012 starts in the eastern end of the Niagara Peninsula.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of high quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable housing solutions. 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 informed decisions.

For more information, visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642. CMHC Market Analysis standard reports are also available free for download at CMHC Housing Market Information.

(Ce document existe également en français)

To view the table associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/cmhc0208stcate.pdf.