August Housing Starts in New Brunswick

MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK--(Marketwire - Sept. 9, 2011) - Residential construction in New Brunswick's urban centres was lower in August according to figures released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Preliminary data⁽¹⁾ indicate that a total of 195 starts were recorded during the month compared to 391 starts for the same period in 2011.

"Fewer single and multiple starts in New Brunswick's three large urban centres in August led to a significant year-over-year decline in residential construction activity for the month," said Claude Gautreau, CMHC's senior market analyst for New Brunswick. Single starts were down 36 per cent with a total of 115 units compared to 181 during the same month last year. Year-to-date, single starts have declined 22 per cent to 693 units.

In August, multiple starts were down 62 per cent to 80 units. Year-to date, multiple starts are down 31 per cent from last year's total to 816 units. "The significant decline in multiple starts observed in New Brunswick to the end of August is primarily the result of fewer apartment starts, most notably in Fredericton and Saint John," added Gautreau.

In urban centres across Canada, total housing starts recorded in August were down three per cent to 14,360 units compared to last year's total of 14,855. Single-detached starts were down nine per cent to 5,946 units, while multiple starts were up one per cent to 8,414 units this year. In the Atlantic region, 755 new units were started in August 2011 compared to 936 units during the same period in 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 NEW BRUNSWICK SUMMARY

	2011	2010		YEAR-TO -DATE
			% Change			% Change
	AUG	AUG		2011	2010
	ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATIONS > 50,000
SAINT JOHN CMA
Single	20	44	-54.5%	146	237	-38.4%
Multiple	21	5	# #	112	296	-62.2%
TOTAL	41	49	-16.3%	258	533	-51.6%
MONCTON CMA
Single	49	74	-33.8%	243	314	-22.6%
Multiple	18	93	-80.6%	482	574	-16.0%
TOTAL	67	167	-59.9%	725	888	-18.4%
FREDERICTON CA
Single	27	39	-30.8%	218	239	-8.8%
Multiple	28	95	-70.5%	185	273	-32.2%
TOTAL	55	134	-59.0%	403	512	-21.3%
	ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION >10,000*
ALL CENTRES
Single	115	181	-36.5%	693	894	-22.5%
Multiple	80	210	-61.9%	816	1190	-31.4%
TOTAL	195	391	-50.1%	1,509	2,084	-27.6%

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 (Saint John CMA, Moncton CMA, Fredericton CA, Bathurst CA, Campbellton CA, Edmundston CA, and Miramichi CA).

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