March Housing Starts in the St. John's Area

ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR--(Marketwire - April 11, 2012) - Housing starts in the St. John's region decreased during the month of March, according to preliminary data¹ released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). March's housing starts totalled 57 units throughout the St. John's area compared to 84 units in March 2011. For the first quarter of 2012, starts were up 19 per cent to 287 units.

Single-detached and multiple unit construction activity were mixed throughout the St. John's area in March. Multiple starts caused the overall decline, with 16 units recorded versus 42 a year ago, while single-detached starts were flat with 41 units recorded. "While multiple starts declined, solid economic and demographic fundamentals continued to support the local housing market during March," said Chris Janes, senior market analyst with CMHC in Newfoundland and Labrador.

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
NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR SUMMARY
	2012	2011	% Change	YEAR-TO-DATE		% Change
	MAR	MAR		2012	2011
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATIONS > 50,000
ST. JOHN'S CMA
Single	41	42	-2.4%	142	173	-17.9%
Multiple	16	42	-61.9%	145	68	##
TOTAL	57	84	-32.1%	287	241	19.1%
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION >10,000
ALL CENTRES*
Single	43	44	-2.3%	148	182	-18.7%
Multiple	16	43	-62.8%	145	70	##
TOTAL	59	87	-32.2%	293	252	16.3%

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 (St. John's CMA, Corner Brook CA, Gander MD, Grand Falls/Windsor CA, and Bay Roberts CA)

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