June Housing Starts Decline in St. Catharines-Niagara

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 11, 2011) - Preliminary data for June 2011 released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) for the St. Catharines-Niagara Census Metropolitan Area⁽ⁱ⁾ (CMA) show total housing starts in June declined compared to June 2010. This is the first year-over-year decline this quarter, following two straight months of increase in April and May. Even with the June decline, this is the highest second quarter total since 2006.

Total starts for St. Catharines-Niagara CMA declined to 105 units in June compared to 134 units at the same time last year. The decline in total starts is mainly due to fewer single-detached homes. The number of single-detached starts declined by 29 per cent in St. Catharines-Niagara CMA compared to June 2010. There was a 26 per cent increase in row home starts in Niagara Region this month compared to June 2010. There were no semi-detached and apartment starts in June.

"After a strong April and May, total year-to-date starts in June, for Niagara Region, declined by 12 per cent compared to the same period last year," said Anthony Adrien, Market Analyst with CMHC. "The largest year-to-date total starts declines, compared to last year, were in St. Catharines, Lincoln and West Lincoln. Despite the increase in row home starts in Niagara Falls and Welland, there continues to be an overall decline in higher-density housing starts due to fewer young families forming in municipalities such as St. Catharines and Lincoln," added Adrien.

To view the graph associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/cmhc0711stcatge.jpg.

To view the table associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/cmhc0711stcatte.jpg.

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.

For more information, please visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642.

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⁽ⁱ⁾ Statistics Canada defines a census metropolitan area (CMA) as one or more adjacent municipalities integrated with an urban core. A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000 of which 50,000 or more must live in the urban core.