CMHC: November Housing Starts in Vancouver and Abbotsford

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Dec. 8, 2011) - Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reports 1,686 housing starts in November in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), an increase compared to the same month a year ago. An increase in multi-family starts accounted for the change, with single family starts coming in lower than in the same month in 2010.

"Total housing starts for the month of November in the Vancouver CMA exceeded the 10 year average and were on par with the 2004 to 2008 period," noted Robyn Adamache, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst. "In the first 11 months of the year, total starts for the Vancouver CMA also exceeded the 10 year average but were below the levels seen from 2004 to 2008." Over two thirds of the Vancouver CMA apartment condominium starts in November were in the cities of Vancouver and Surrey, whereas year-to-date, these cities accounted for 40 per cent of the total.

The Abbotsford CMA reported 53 housing starts in the month of November, virtually unchanged from the 56 recorded in the same month last year. Single detached starts are 31 per cent lower in the first 11 months of the year than in the same period last year while multi-family starts have doubled 2010 numbers to the end of November.

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

For more information, and to download CMHC's housing reports, please visit CMHC's website at www.cmhc.ca/housingmarketinformation or call 1-800-668-2642.

Preliminary housing starts numbers are summarized in the attached tables.

To view the map and tables accompanying this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/cmhc127i.pdf.

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