August Housing Starts in the St. John's Area

ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR--(Marketwire - Sept. 11, 2012) - Housing starts in the St. John's region increased during the month of August, according to preliminary data⁽¹⁾ released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). August's housing starts totalled 224 units throughout the St. John's area compared to 193 units in August 2011. Year-to-date starts are up 13 per cent to 1,431 units.

Single-detached and multiple unit construction activity both increased throughout the St. John's area in August. There were 91 multiple units recorded versus 72 a year ago, while single-detached starts increased ten per cent to 133 units in August. "Flat year-to-date single-detached starts activity has been offset by robust condo and basement apartment activity, with multiple unit construction showing significant gains over last year," said Chris Janes, senior market analyst with CMHC in Newfoundland and Labrador.

In urban centres across Canada, total housing starts recorded in August increased 19 per cent to 17,725 units compared to 14,938 a year ago. Single-detached starts decreased five per cent to 6,015 units, while multiple starts increased 36 per cent to 11,710 units in August. In the Atlantic region, 1,112 new units were started compared to 795 during August 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
NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR SUMMARY
	AUGUST	AUGUST			YEAR-TO-DATE
	2012	2011	% Change		2012	2011	% Change
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION >50,000
ST. JOHN'S CMA
Single	133	121	9.9	%	824	835	-1.3	%
Multiple	91	72	26.4	%	607	429	41.5	%
TOTAL	224	193	16.1	%	1,431	1,264	13.2	%
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION >10,000*
ALL CENTRES
Single	150	160	-6.3	%	920	1,013	-9.2	%
Multiple	96	79	21.5	%	656	493	33.1	%
TOTAL	246	239	2.9	%	1,576	1,506	4.6	%

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, Corner Brook CA, Gander MD, Grand Falls/Windsor CA, and Bay Roberts CA)

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