September 2012 Housing Starts in Halifax

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwire - Oct. 9, 2012) - Housing starts in Halifax, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 2,791 units in September, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) ¹ of housing starts. The standalone monthly SAAR was 4,698 units in September, down from 5,159 in August.

"After three quarters of the year, total housing starts activity was mixed in Halifax as single starts remain higher than last year and multiple starts continue to track lower," said Matthew Gilmore, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for Halifax. "Despite the year-to-date declines, apartment construction remains strong in historic terms," added Gilmore.

CMHC uses the trend measure as a complement to the monthly SAAR of housing starts to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and obtain a more complete picture of the state of the housing market. In some situations, analyzing only SAAR data can be misleading in some markets, as they are largely driven by the multiples segment of the markets, which can be quite variable from one month to the next.

Single detached starts added 90 actual units in September 2012 compared to 105 units last year. Multiple starts totalled 321 actual units in September compared to 281 units reported in September of last year. Year-to-date total starts have reached 1,907 actual units with multiple starts at 1,165 units and single starts at 742 units. After three quarters of the year, total starts remain below the level recorded last year.

Preliminary Housing Starts data is also available in English and French at the following link: Preliminary Housing Starts Tables

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of 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.

¹ All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts and the trend estimate, are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) - that is, monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels. By removing seasonal ups and downs, seasonal adjustment allows for a comparison from one season to the next and from one month to the next. Reporting monthly figures at annual rates indicates the annual level of starts that would be obtained if the monthly pace was maintained for 12 months. This facilitates comparison of the current pace of activity to annual forecasts as well as to historical annual levels.

Additional data is available upon request.

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A graph is available at the following address : http://file.marketwire.com/release/hfxeng.jpg

Preliminary Housing Start Data
September / 2011-2012
Halifax, CMA1	September 2011	September 2012
Actual
September - Single-Detached	105	90
September - Multiples	281	321
September - Total	386	411
January to September - Single-Detached	670	742
January to September - Multiples	1,522	1,165
January to September - Total	2,192	1,907
	August 2012	September 2012
SAAR2
Total	5,159	4,698
Source: CMHC
1 Census Metropolitan Area
2 Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates
Detailed data available upon request.

Nova Scotia Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
September / 2011-2012
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Urban Centres 100,000+
Halifax CMA	105	90	281	321	386	411
Cape Breton RGM	11	16	15	4	26	20
Total Urban Starts1	184	147	312	338	496	485
Nova Scotia Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
January - September / 2011-2012
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Urban Centres 100,000+
Halifax CMA	670	742	1,522	1,165	2,192	1,907
Cape Breton RGM	85	125	84	119	169	244
Total Urban Starts1	1,168	1,310	1,787	1,408	2,955	2,718

¹Urban starts include an estimate for the areas 10,000-49,999 for the first two months in a quarter and are subject to revision(s) after quarterly enumeration in the third and final month of the quarter.

Nova Scotia Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
Third Quarter / 2011-2012
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Urban Centres 10,000 - 49,999
Chester MD	14	10	0	0	14	10
East Hants MD	27	31	11	14	38	45
Kentville CA	16	35	0	19	16	54
Kings Subd A SC	23	2	6	0	29	2
Lunenburg MD	7	26	0	0	7	26
New Glasgow	28	0	10	0	38	0
Queens RGM	9	5	0	2	9	7
Truro	44	38	14	6	58	44
West Hants MD	14	12	0	2	14	14
Yarmouth MD	6	6	2	0	8	6
Urban Centres 10,000 - 49,999	188	165	43	43	231	208
Nova Scotia Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
January to September / 2011-2012
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Urban Centres 10,000 - 49,999
Chester MD	31	24	0	4	31	28
East Hants MD	63	58	33	34	96	92
Kentville CA	41	42	24	21	65	63
Kings Subd A SC	37	18	16	18	53	36
Lunenburg MD	39	92	0	2	39	94
New Glasgow	56	39	34	20	90	59
Queens RGM	12	17	0	2	12	19
Truro	85	89	72	22	157	111
West Hants MD	37	52	0	2	37	54
Yarmouth MD	12	12	2	0	14	12
Urban Centres 10,000 - 49,999	413	443	181	125	594	568