August Housing Starts in Halifax

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwire - Sept. 11, 2012) - New residential construction in Halifax increased last month compared to August 2011 according to preliminary data¹ released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). There were 446 housing starts recorded in August compared to 232 last year.

"The increase in residential construction activity last month was largely attributed to an increase in multiple starts, specifically apartment-style construction," said Matthew Gilmore, senior market analyst with CMHC's Atlantic Business Centre. "There were 311 apartment starts recorded in August compared to 124 last year," added Gilmore. "In the single-detached segment of the market, starts increased for the fifth consecutive month to 97 units from 80 last year," said Gilmore.

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

NOVA SCOTIA SUMMARY

	AUGUST	AUGUST			YEAR-TO-DATE
	2012	2011	% Change		2012	2011	% Change
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATIONS > 50,000
HALIFAX CMA
Single	97	80	21.3	%	652	565	15.4	%
Multiple	349	152	# #		844	1,241	-32.0	%
TOTAL	446	232	92.2	%	1,496	1,806	-17.2	%
CAPE BRETON RGM
Single	20	10	# #		109	74	47.3	%
Multiple	16	11	45.5	%	115	69	66.7	%
TOTAL	36	21	71.4	%	224	143	56.6	%
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION >10,000
ALL CENTRES*
Single	151	134	12.7	%	1,101	983	12.0	%
Multiple	370	172	# #		1,053	1,474	-28.6	%
TOTAL	521	306	70.3	%	2,154	2,457	-12.3	%

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 (Halifax CMA, Cape Breton RGM, Truro CA, Kentville CA and New Glasgow CA, Chester MD, East Hants MD, Kings Subd. A SCM, Lunenburg MD, Queens RGM, West Hants MD, Yarmouth MD).

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