March Housing Starts in Halifax

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwire - April 11, 2012) - New residential construction in Halifax increased last month compared to March 2011 according to preliminary data¹ released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). There were 201 housing starts recorded in March compared to 112 last year.

"The increase in new home construction activity compared to last year was supported by apartment- style rental unit construction as builders broke ground on 131 apartment units," said Matthew Gilmore, senior market analyst with CMHC's Atlantic Business Centre.

In the first quarter of 2012, single-detached starts in the HRM increased nearly 11 per cent compared to last year. Despite another strong first quarter, multiple starts declined 28 per cent to 268 units from 370 units in the first quarter of 2011.

In urban centres across Canada, total housing starts recorded in March were up 18 per cent to 13,761 units compared to 11,655 a year ago. Single-detached starts increased 11 per cent to 4,030 units, while multiple starts increased 21 per cent to 9,731 units in March. In the Atlantic region, 333 new units were started compared to 271 during March 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
	MAR	MAR		YEAR-TO-DATE
			% Change			% Change
	2012	2011		2012	2011
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATIONS > 50,000
HALIFAX CMA
Single	59	74	-20.3%	163	147	10.9%
Multiple	142	38	##	268	370	-27.6%
TOTAL	201	112	79.5%	431	517	-16.6%
CAPE BRETON RGM
Single	4	1	##	20	11	81.8%
Multiple	0	4	##	4	12	-66.7%
TOTAL	4	5	-20.0%	24	23	4.3%
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION >10,000
ALL CENTRES*
Single	91	105	-13.3%	264	230	14.8%
Multiple	146	47	##	288	410	-29.8%
TOTAL	237	152	55.9%	552	640	-13.8%

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.