October Housing Starts Decline in St. Catharines-Niagara

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 8, 2011) - Preliminary data for October 2011 released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) for the St.Catharines-Niagara Census Metropolitan Area(i) (CMA) show total housing starts declined in October compared to the same month last year. Total starts were 79 units for the month, down from 103 units started in October 2010. This is the fewest October starts since 2006.

Starts of all housing types declined except for semi-detached homes which remained unchanged. Single-detached starts were down by 24 per cent and townhomes declined by 27 per cent compared to October 2010. There were no apartment starts this month.

"After a strong second and third quarter, starts declined in October," said Anthony Adrien, Market Analyst with CMHC. "As demand subsides due to current global financial uncertainty in the US and Europe, new residential construction in the CMA, especially for single-detached homes, is slowing. Single-detached homes made up 65 per cent of total starts year-to-date last year. This year, they make up 57 per cent," added Adrien.

To view a map of the St. Catharines-Niagara region, please visit the following link:

http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/742852A.jpg

To view the graph, "Monthly Housing Starts," please visit the following link:

http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/742852B.jpg

To view the table associated with this press release, please visit the following link:

http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/742852.pdf

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable homes. 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 vital decisions.

For more information, please visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642.

Aussi disponible en français

^[1] Statistics Canada defines a census metropolitan area (CMA) as one or more adjacent municipalities integrated with an urban core. A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000 of which 50,000 or more must live in the urban core.