April 2013 Housing Starts in Prince Edward Island

MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK--(Marketwired - May 8, 2013) - Housing starts in Prince Edward Island were trending at 616 units in April compared to 681 in March 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 trend in total housing starts continued to moderate in April after a strong start to the year in January. Lower levels of both single and multiple starts in April contributed to the decline in both the trend and SAAR numbers for the month," said Jason Beaton, CMHC's Market Analyst for Prince Edward Island.

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, analysing 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.

The standalone monthly SAAR was 240 units in April, down from 257 in March.

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.

Follow CMHC on Twitter @CMHC_ca

(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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Preliminary Housing Start Data
April 2013
Prince Edward Island, Centres 10,000+			March 2013	April 2013
	Trend1, urban centres2		681	616
	SAAR, urban centres2		257	240
			April 2012	April 2013
	Actual, urban centres2
		April - Single-Detached	13	10
		April - Multiples	62	4
		April - Total	75	14
		January to April - Single-Detached	37	21
		January to April - Multiples	62	137
		January to April - Total	99	158
Source: CMHC
1 The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR).
2 Urban centres with a population of 10,000 and over.
Detailed data available upon request

Prince Edward Island Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
April / 2012-2013
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples		Total
	2012	2013	2012	2013	2012	2013
Urban Centres
Charlottetown CA	11	10	57	2	68	12
Summerside CA	2	0	5	2	7	2
Total Urban Centres	13	10	62	4	75	14
Prince Edward Island Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
January to April / 2012-2013
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples		Total
	2012	2013	2012	2013	2012	2013
Urban Centres
Charlottetown CA	31	19	57	126	88	145
Summerside CA	6	2	5	11	11	13
Total Urban Centres	37	21	62	137	99	158