April Housing Starts in PEI

CHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND--(Marketwire - May 8, 2012) - Residential construction in urban centres of the province increased last month compared to April 2011, according to figures released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Preliminary data¹ indicate that a total of 75 units were started in April 2012 compared to 45 units last year.

"Solid gains were recorded in multiple unit construction last month in the Charlottetown area," said Jason Beaton, market analyst with CMHC in Prince Edward Island. There were 57 multiple units started in Charlottetown in April compared to 31 units a year ago. A total of 11 single-detached units were started in Charlottetown during the month, up from 10 units in 2011, while Summerside recorded two single-detached starts, falling behind last year's level of four units. "On a year-to-date basis, urban starts are only slightly behind last year's level due to fewer multiple starts activity in the Summerside area," said Beaton.

In urban centres across Canada, total housing starts recorded in April were up 29 per cent to 19,188 units compared to 14,865 a year ago. Single-detached starts increased three per cent to 5,945 units, while multiple starts increased 45 per cent to 13,243 units in April. In the Atlantic region, 529 new units were started compared to 615 during April 2011.

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.

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 PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND SUMMARY

	2012	2011		YEAR-TO -DATE
			% Change			% Change
	APR	APR		2012	2011
	ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION >10,000
CHARLOTTETOWN CA
Single	11	10	10.0%	31	30	3.3%
Multiple	57	31	83.9%	57	59	-3.4%
TOTAL	68	41	65.9%	88	89	-1.1%
SUMMERSIDE CA
Single	2	4	-50.0%	6	7	-14.3%
Multiple	5	0	-	5	12	-58.3%
TOTAL	7	4	75.0%	11	19	-42.1%
ALL CENTRES
Single	13	14	-7.1%	37	37	0.0%
Multiple	62	31	# #	62	71	-12.7%
TOTAL	75	45	66.7%	99	108	-8.3%

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

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