November Housing Starts in New Brunswick

MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK--(Marketwire - Dec. 8, 2011) - Residential construction activity in New Brunswick's urban centres produced fewer housing starts in November according to figures released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Preliminary data¹ indicate that a total of 197 starts were recorded during the month compared to 216 starts for the same period in 2010.

"The decline observed in November was the result of fewer single-detached starts in provincial urban centres, as construction activity was solid for multiples, with a slight year-over-year increase for the month," said Claude Gautreau, CMHC's senior market analyst for New Brunswick. Single starts in November were down 22 per cent to 90 units from last year's monthly total. Year-to-date, single starts have declined 20 per cent to 994 units.

In November, 107 multiple starts were recorded compared to 101 units during the same month last year. Year-to date, multiple starts are down 18 per cent to 1,267 units from last year's total. "For the year, a significant increase in multiple starts in Fredericton has been offset by reduced activity in both Moncton and Saint John, leading to the year-over-year decline observed as of the end of November," added Gautreau.

In urban centres across Canada, total housing starts recorded in November were down five per cent to 14,701 units compared to 15,540 a year ago. Single-detached starts were virtually unchanged at 5,920 units, while multiple starts decreased eight per cent to 8,781 units in November. In the Atlantic region, 674 new units were started compared to 731 during November 2010.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on 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.

¹ Figures for the most recent month are preliminary and subject to revisions due to corrections or updates from quarterly enumeration or sampling results.

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.

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PRELIMINARY URBAN MONTHLY HOUSING STARTS NEW BRUNSWICK SUMMARY

	2011	2010	% Change	YEAR-TO -DATE		% Change
	NOV	NOV		2011	2010
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATIONS > 50,000
SAINT JOHN CMA
Single	22	25	-12.0%	201	322	-37.6%
Multiple	12	2	# #	141	304	-53.6%
TOTAL	34	27	25.9%	342	626	-45.4%
MONCTON CMA
Single	27	39	-30.8%	350	428	-18.2%
Multiple	79	94	-16.0%	713	886	-19.5%
TOTAL	106	133	-20.3%	1,063	1,314	-19.1%
FREDERICTON CA
Single	33	40	-17.5%	318	355	-10.4%
Multiple	16	4	# #	368	311	18.3%
TOTAL	49	44	11.4%	686	666	3.0%
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION >10,000*
ALL CENTRES
Single	90	115	-21.7%	994	1,249	-20.4%
Multiple	107	101	5.9%	1,267	1,552	-18.4%
TOTAL	197	216	-8.8%	2,261	2,801	-19.3%

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 (Saint John CMA, Moncton CMA, Fredericton CA, Bathurst CA, Campbellton CA, Edmundston CA, and Miramichi CA).

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

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