April Housing Starts in Halifax

HALIFAX, May 10 /CNW/ - New residential construction in Halifax increased last month compared to April 2009. According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC's) preliminary data(1) released today for Halifax, there were 223 housing starts last month, more than twice the 84 starts recorded in April 2009. Single starts increased from 66 to 80 units while multiple starts surged from 18 to 143 units.

"The April figures were supported by a high level of apartment construction with 98 new units started and by semi-detached and row house construction with 45 new units started," said Matthew Gilmore, senior market analyst with CMHC's Atlantic Business Centre. "The single-detached market strengthened in April with 21 per cent growth compared to last April. The increased level of residential construction activity reflects the generally supportive economic conditions of stable employment and wages in Halifax," Gilmore added.

In urban centres across Canada in April there were 14,995 total housing starts, 79 per cent more than the 8,387 starts recorded in April of 2009. There were 6,774 single-detached starts last month, an increase of 79 per cent compared to April of 2009. Multi-residential starts were also up 79 per cent to 8,221 in April of 2010. In Atlantic Canada, there were 573 urban housing starts posted compared to 419 in April of last year, an increase of 37 per cent.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable homes. 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 vital decisions.

    
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    (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
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                      2010    2009                   YEAR-TO-DATE
                      ---------------  % Change    --------------   % Change
                       APR     APR                  2010     2009
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           ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATIONS GREATER THAN 50,000
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    HALIFAX CMA
    Single              80      66       21.2%       296      170      74.1%
    Multiple           143      18        (XX)       393      188       (XX)
    TOTAL              223      84        (XX)       689      358      92.5%
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    CAPE BRETON RGM
    Single              10       1        (XX)        22       15      46.7%
    Multiple             0       0          -         10       10       0.0%
    TOTAL               10       1        (XX)        32       25      28.0%
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            ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION GREATER THAN 10,000
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    ALL CENTRES*
    Single             103     104       -1.0%       432      269      60.6%
    Multiple           144      24        (XX)       429      224      91.5%
    TOTAL              247     128       93.0%       861      493      74.6%
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    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 CA, East Hants MD CA, Kings Subd. A SC CA,
         Lunenburg MD CA, Queens RGM CA, West Hants MD CA, Yarmouth MD CA).
    (XX) Indicates changes in excess of 100% which are not reported due to
         volatility resulting from small absolute numbers.
    

For further information: on this release: Matthew Gilmore, Senior Market Analyst, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, [phone], [email protected]; visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1 800 668-2642