January Housing Starts in New Brunswick

MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK--(Marketwire - Feb. 8, 2011) - Residential construction in New Brunswick's urban centres was down in January according to figures released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Preliminary data¹ indicate that a total of 59 starts were recorded during the month compared to 197 starts for the same period in 2010.

"The decline in residential construction observed in January was primarily due to a significant reduction in multiple starts," said Claude Gautreau, CMHC's senior market analyst for New Brunswick. In January of 2011, multiple starts in provincial urban centres were limited to 4 units. In comparison, 137 multiple starts were recorded during the same month last year.

Single starts were also lower in January with a moderate 8 per cent decline to 55 units, as a year-over-year increase in Fredericton was offset by fewer single starts in both Saint John and Moncton. "Difficult weather conditions, the result of frequent snowfalls, no doubt contributed to the year-over-year decline in residential construction observed in January," added Gautreau.

In urban centres across Canada, total housing starts recorded in January were down six per cent to 9,773 units compared to last year's total of 10,438. Single-detached starts were down 28 per cent to 3,463 units, while multiple starts were up 13 per cent to 6,310 units this year. In the Atlantic region, 480 new units were started in January 2011 compared to 441 units during the same period in 2010.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of 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 vital 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
	JAN	JAN			2011	2010
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATIONS > 50,000
SAINT JOHN CMA
Single	10	21	-52.4	%	10	21	-52.4	%
Multiple	0	65	# #		0	65	# #
TOTAL	10	86	-88.4	%	10	86	-88.4	%
MONCTON CMA
Single	8	15	-46.7	%	8	15	-46.7	%
Multiple	0	31	# #		0	31	# #
TOTAL	8	46	-82.6	%	8	46	-82.6	%
FREDERICTON CA
Single	29	22	31.8	%	29	22	31.8	%
Multiple	4	40	-90.0	%	4	40	-90.0	%
TOTAL	33	62	-46.8	%	33	62	-46.8	%
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION >10,000*
ALL CENTRES
Single	55	60	-8.3	%	55	60	-8.3	%
Multiple	4	137	-97.1	%	4	137	-97.1	%
TOTAL	59	197	-70.1	%	59	197	-70.1	%

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.