New home construction slowed in October



    CHARLOTTETOWN, Nov. 8 /CNW/ - Residential construction in urban centres
of the province slowed slightly in October. According to figures released
today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), preliminary data
indicates that a total of 34 housing starts were recorded in October compared
to 36 starts for the same period last year.
    "The level of residential construction was essentially unchanged in
October when compared to the same month last year", said Jason Beaton, Market
Analyst with CMHC in Prince Edward Island. A total of 28 single starts were
recorded in the province's urban centers in October, which is the same as
2006. Multiple starts were unchanged in Charlottetown with 2 units in both
October 2006 and 2007, while Summerside recorded 4 units this year, up from
2 units last year. On a year-to-date basis, total urban starts in PEI have
decreased slightly to 373 units from 459 units during the same period in 2006.
"PEI's housing market is not expected to reach the level of activity
experienced in 2006 as a result of fewer apartment starts in the Charlottetown
area", continued Beaton.
    In Canadian urban centers, there were 16,057 total housing starts in
October - a 9 per cent decrease from the 17,595 starts in October, 2006.
Construction starts of single-detached homes decreased 10 per cent from 8,220
in October last year to 7,370 this year. Multiple starts slowed by 7 per cent
from 9,375 units in October 2006, to 8,687 units this year. In the Atlantic
region, 757 new units were started in October 2007 compared to 604 units
during the same period 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.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   PRELIMINARY URBAN MONTHLY HOUSING STARTS
                         PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND SUMMARY
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        2007     2006               YEAR-TO-DATE
                      ----------------  % Change  ----------------  % Change
                         OCT      OCT               2007     2006
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
           ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION (greater than) 10,000
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    CHARLOTTETOWN CA
    Single                26       26        0.0%    239      235        1.7%
    Multiple               2        6      -66.7%     82      185      -55.7%
    TOTAL                 28       32      -12.5%    321      420      -23.6%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    SUMMERSIDE CA
    Single                 2        2        0.0%     25       25        0.0%
    Multiple               4        2        (xx)     27       14       92.9%
    TOTAL                  6        4       50.0%     52       39       33.3%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    ALL CENTRES(*)
    Single                28       28        0.0%    264      260        1.5%
    Multiple               6        8      -25.0%    109      199      -45.2%
    TOTAL                 34       36       -5.6%    373      459      -18.7%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (xx) Indicates changes in excess of 100% which are not reported due to
         volatility resulting from small absolute numbers.

For further information:

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

Organization Profile

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Custom Packages

Browse our custom packages or build your own to meet your unique communications needs.

Start today.

CNW Membership

Fill out a CNW membership form or contact us at 1 (877) 269-7890

Learn about CNW services

Request more information about CNW products and services or call us at 1 (877) 269-7890