New home construction increased in October

    CHARLOTTETOWN, Nov. 10 /CNW/ - Residential construction in urban centres
of the province increased in October. According to figures released today by
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), preliminary data indicates
that a total of 45 housing starts were recorded in October compared to 34
starts for the same period last year.
    "Residential construction in PEI posted an increase in October 2008, due
to more multiple starts in the Charlottetown area", said Jason Beaton, Market
Analyst with CMHC in Prince Edward Island. A total of 27 single-detached units
were started in the province's urban centers in October, which is essentially
the same level recorded in 2007. Multiple starts in Charlottetown reached 18
units this October, compared to 2 units in 2007, while the Summerside area
recorded no new units this year. On a year-to-date basis, total urban starts
in PEI have increased slightly to 393 units from 373 units during the same
period in 2007. "PEI's urban housing market is experiencing another strong
year in 2008, and is expected to decline only slightly from the 2007 level",
continued Beaton.
    In urban centres across Canada, total housing starts in October were down
6 per cent to 16,636 units compared to last year's monthly total of 17,634.
Single-detached starts were down 23 per cent to 5,932 units, while multiple
starts were up 7 per cent in October to 10,704 units compared to 9,979 units
during the same period last year. In the Atlantic region, total starts were up
10 per cent with 873 new units started in October compared to 796 units in the
same month last year.

    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"
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                       2008    2007                 YEAR-TO-DATE
                      --------------  % Change     --------------   % Change
                       2008    2007                 OCT      OCT
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            ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION GREATER THAN 10,000
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    CHARLOTTETOWN CA
    Single               23      26      -11,5%     234      239        -2,1%
    Multiple             18       2        (xx)     100       82        22,0%
    TOTAL                41      28       46,4%     334      321         4,0%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    SUMMERSIDE CA
    Single                4       2        (xx)      35       25        40,0%
    Multiple              0       4        (xx)      24       27       -11,1%
    TOTAL                 4       6      -33,3%      59       52        13,5%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    ALL CENTRES(*)
    Single               27      28       -3,6%     269      264         1,9%
    Multiple             18       6        (xx)     124      109        13,8%
    TOTAL                45      34       32,4%     393      373         5,4%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

For further information: Jason Beaton, Market Analyst, Prince Edward
Island, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, (506) 851-6047