December 2012 Housing Starts in Halifax

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwire - Jan. 9, 2013) - Housing starts in Halifax, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 3,575 units in December, 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 standalone monthly SAAR was 1,306 units in December, down from 1,698 in November.

"Housing activity was mixed in Halifax in 2012 as single-detached starts increased while multiple starts declined," said Matthew Gilmore CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for Halifax. "Despite the year-over-year decline in multiples, apartment construction in the city remained relatively strong in 2012 with 1,437 new starts," Gilmore said. "The pace of residential construction in the city slowed towards the end of 2012, due largely to fewer multiples starts in November and December as compared to the high level of multiples activity recorded in August, September and October," added Gilmore.

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.

Single-detached starts added 83 actual units in December 2012 compared to 63 units last year. Multiple starts totalled 29 actual units in December compared to 445 units reported in December of last year. Year-to-date total starts have reached 2,754 actual units with multiple starts at 1,763 units and single starts at 991 units. Total starts for the year were seven per cent below the level recorded in 2011.

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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A graph is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Halifax_CMA_0109_EN.pdf

Preliminary Housing Start Data
December 2012
Halifax, CMA1			December 2011	December 2012
	Actual
		December - Single-Detached	63	83
		December - Multiples	445	29
		December - Total	508	112
		January to December - Single-Detached	900	991
		January to December - Multiples	2,054	1,763
		January to December - Total	2,954	2,754
			November 2012	December 2012
	SAAR2
		Total	1,698	1,306

Source: CMHC

1 Census Metropolitan Area

2 Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates

Detailed data available upon request.

Nova Scotia Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
December / 2011-2012
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Urban Centres 100,000+
Halifax CMA	63	83	445	29	508	112
Cape Breton RGM	15	7	16	12	31	19
Total Urban Starts1	123	153	528	57	651	210
Nova Scotia Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
January to December / 2011-2012
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Urban Centres 100,000+
Halifax CMA	900	991	2,054	1,763	2,954	2,754
Cape Breton RGM	124	154	143	145	267	299
Total Urban Starts1	1,605	1,810	2,470	2,115	4,075	3,925

Nova Scotia Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
Fourth Quarter / 2011-2012
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Urban Centres 10,000 - 49,999
Chester MD	21	14	2	0	23	14
East Hants MD	17	16	3	2	20	18
Kentville CA	11	16	60	18	71	34
Kings Subd A SC	13	41	12	18	25	59
Lunenburg MD	28	30	0	0	28	30
New Glasgow	30	48	11	27	41	75
Queens RGM	2	3	2	4	4	7
Truro	27	29	2	11	29	40
West Hants MD	13	19	0	2	13	21
Yarmouth MD	6	6	0	0	6	6
Urban Centres 10,000 - 49,999	168	222	92	82	260	304
Nova Scotia Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
January to December/ 2011-2012
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Urban Centres 10,000 - 49,999
Chester MD	52	38	2	4	54	42
East Hants MD	80	74	36	36	116	110
Kentville CA	52	58	84	39	136	97
Kings Subd A SC	50	59	28	36	78	95
Lunenburg MD	67	122	0	2	67	124
New Glasgow	86	87	45	47	131	134
Queens RGM	14	20	2	6	16	26
Truro	112	118	74	33	186	151
West Hants MD	50	71	0	4	50	75
Yarmouth MD	18	18	2	0	20	18
Urban Centres 10,000 - 49,999	581	665	273	207	854	872