April Housing Starts for the St. John's Area

ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR--(Marketwire - May 9, 2011) - Housing starts in the St. John's region declined during the month of April, according to preliminary data⁽¹⁾ released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). April's housing starts totaled 71 units throughout the St. John's area compared to 129 units in April of 2010. There were five additional starts recorded in urban centres outside the St. John's area, for a total of 76 urban housing starts across the province.

"New home construction activity slowed in April, with significant declines recorded in both single and multiple starts," said Chris Janes, senior market analyst with CMHC in Newfoundland and Labrador. "While housing starts are forecast to end the year down from 2010 levels, the trend to lower levels of activity is expected to moderate in the coming months," added Janes.

In urban centres across Canada, total housing starts recorded in April were down 15 per cent to 13,528 units compared to last year's total of 15,897. Single-detached starts declined 27 per cent to 5,382 units, while multiple starts decreased four per cent to 8,146 units in April. In the Atlantic region, 551 new units were started compared to 640 units during April 2010.

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

⁽¹⁾ Figures for the most recent month are preliminary and subject to revisions due to corrections or updates from quarterly enumeration or sampling results.

For more information, visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642.

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PRELIMINARY URBAN MONTHLY HOUSING STARTS NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR SUMMARY

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 (St . John's CMA, Corner Brook CA, Gander MD, Grand Falls/Windsor CA, and Bay Roberts CA)

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

Data for 2006 on 2001 Census Definitions.

Data for 2009 on 2006 Preliminary Census Definitions.