February Housing Starts in Halifax

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwire - March 8, 2012) - New residential construction in Halifax decreased last month compared to February 2011 according to preliminary data¹ released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). There were 153 housing starts recorded in February compared to 158 last year.

"New home construction in Halifax reported a slight decline in February compared to last year," said Matthew Gilmore, senior market analyst with CMHC's Atlantic Business Centre. "Starts in Halifax were supported by an increase in singles activity as builders broke ground on 45 units compared to 29 last year," added Gilmore. "On the multiples side, despite declining from 129 starts to 108 in February, starts remained above the ten-year monthly average of 80 units," said Gilmore.

In urban centres across Canada, total housing starts recorded in February were up 15 per cent to 11,498 units compared to 10,024 a year ago. Single-detached starts increased two per cent to 3,487 units, while multiple starts increased 21 per cent to 8,011 units in February. In the Atlantic region, 256 new units were started compared to 278 during February 2011.

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, visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642. CMHC Market Analysis standard reports are also available free for download at CMHC Housing Market Information.

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

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PRELIMINARY URBAN MONTHLY HOUSING STARTS
NOVA SCOTIA SUMMARY
	FEB	FEB		YEAR-TO-DATE
			% Change			% Change
	2012	2011		2012	2011
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATIONS > 50,000
HALIFAX CMA
Single	45	29	55.2%	104	73	42.5%
Multiple	108	129	-16.3%	126	332	-62.0%
TOTAL	153	158	-3.2%	230	405	-43.2%
CAPE BRETON RGM
Single	7	7	0.0%	16	10	60.0%
Multiple	2	2	0.0%	4	8	-50.0%
TOTAL	9	9	0.0%	20	18	11.1%
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION >10,000
ALL CENTRES*
Single	61	52	17.3%	138	125	10.4%
Multiple	111	139	-20.1%	133	364	-63.5%
TOTAL	172	191	-9.9%	271	489	-44.6%

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 (Halifax CMA, Cape Breton RGM, Truro CA, Kentville CA and New Glasgow CA, Chester MD, East Hants MD, Kings Subd. A SCM, Lunenburg MD, Queens RGM, West Hants MD, Yarmouth MD).

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