May Housing Starts in the St. John's Area

ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR--(Marketwire - June 8, 2012) - Housing starts in the St. John's region increased during the month of May, according to preliminary data¹ released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). May's housing starts totalled 236 units throughout the St. John's area compared to 223 units in May 2011. Year-to-date starts are up 30 per cent to 694 units.

Single-detached and multiple unit construction activity were mixed throughout the St. John's area in May. There were 89 multiple units recorded versus 96 a year ago, while single-detached starts increased 16 per cent to 147 units. "Growth in population, income and employment, coupled with mild weather, provided support to the local new home market during May," said Chris Janes, senior market analyst with CMHC in Newfoundland and Labrador.

In urban centres across Canada, total housing starts recorded in May were up seven per cent to 17,058 units compared to 15,962 a year ago. Single-detached starts decreased three per cent to 6,145 units, while multiple starts increased 13 per cent to 10,913 units in May. In the Atlantic region, 866 new homes were started compared to 930 during May 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
NEW FOUNDLAND & LABRADOR SUMMARY
	2012	2011		YEAR-TO-DATE
	MAY	MAY	% Change	2012	2011	% Change
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATIONS > 50,000
ST. JOHN'S CMA
Single	147	127	15.7%	378	367	3.0%
Multiple	89	96	-7.3%	316	168	88.1%
TOTAL	236	223	5.8%	694	535	29.7%
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION >10,000
ALL CENTRES*
Single	150	153	-2.0%	391	416	-6.0%
Multiple	94	114	-17.5%	326	191	70.7%
TOTAL	244	267	-8.6%	717	607	18.1%

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 (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.