November 2012 Housing Starts in Prince Edward Island

MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK--(Marketwire - Dec. 10, 2012) - Housing starts in Prince Edward Island were trending at 855 units in November, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR)¹ of housing starts. The standalone monthly SAAR was 439 units in November, down from 645 in October.

"For the month of November, new home construction was below last year's level, due to a decrease in both single and multiple starts in Charlottetown. On a year-to-date basis, total starts in the province's urban centres are also below 2011 levels, as a result of declines in both single and multiple starts in Summerside," said Jason Beaton, CMHC's Market Analyst for Prince Edward Island.

CMHC uses the trend measure as a complement to the monthly SAAR of housing starts to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and obtain a more complete picture of the state of the housing market. In some situations, analyzing only SAAR data can be misleading in some markets, as they are largely driven by the multiples segment of the markets which can be quite variable from one month to the next.

Single detached starts added 27 actual units in November 2012 compared to 29 units in 2011. Multiple starts declined to 14 actual units in November compared to 61 units reported in November of last year. Year-to-date total starts declined to 604 actual units, from 631 units during the same period last year. Overall, across the urban centres in the province in 2012, total starts are slightly behind the pace set last year.

Preliminary Housing Starts data is also available in English and French at the following link: Preliminary Housing Starts Tables

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of 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.

¹ All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts and the trend estimate, are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) - that is, monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels. By removing seasonal ups and downs, seasonal adjustment allows for a comparison from one season to the next and from one month to the next. Reporting monthly figures at annual rates indicates the annual level of starts that would be obtained if the monthly pace was maintained for 12 months. This facilitates comparison of the current pace of activity to annual forecasts as well as to historical annual levels.

Additional data is available upon request

(Ce document existe également en français)

A graph is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/pe_eng1210.pdf

Preliminary Housing Start Data

November 2012

Province, Centres 10,000+			November 2011	November 2012
	Actual, urban centres1
		November - Single-Detached	29	27
		November - Multiples	61	14
		November - Total	90	41
		January to November - Single-Detached	224	224
		January to November - Multiples	407	380
		January to November - Total	631	604
			October 2012	November 2012
	SAAR2, urban centres1
		Total	645	439

Source: CMHC

¹ Urban centres with a population of 10,000 and over.

² Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates

Detailed data available on request.

Prince Edward Island Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
November / 2011-2012
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Urban Centres 10,000+
Charlottetown CA	28	24	49	12	77	36
Summerside CA	1	3	12	2	13	5
Total Urban Starts	29	27	61	14	90	41
Prince Edward Island Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
January - November / 2011-2012
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Urban Centres 10,000+
Charlottetown CA	190	201	319	338	509	539
Summerside CA	34	23	88	42	122	65
Total Urban Starts	224	224	407	380	631	604