Ottawa Townhome Starts Dominate in March

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 11, 2012) - According to the latest preliminary data released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), housing starts in the Ottawa Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) totalled 336 units in March, compared to 583 units a year ago. First-quarter starts activity in the nation's capital still managed to register a 3.5% advance from last year.

"Ottawa's new home market this past March slowed down compared to a recent historical record last year. Nevertheless, the townhome sector was alone in bucking this trend, registering another month of robust activity. In fact, accounting for almost half of total residential construction for three out of the past four months, this popular sector is on the rise, supported by continued demand from first-time home buyers and downsizers," said Sandra Pérez Torres, Senior Market Analyst at CMHC.

The regional distribution of construction activity during March was concentrated in the areas of Nepean and Gloucester, both outside of the Greenbelt, as well as in Ottawa's core, which combined for ninety per cent of all new foundations. Of these, the active townhome sector boosted both suburban areas above the 100 starts mark. On the other hand, with the addition of one structure of 71 new condo apartment units, Ottawa's city core remained active but expectant of additional projects in the pipeline to catch up to last year's pace. Finally, a second slow month for Cumberland combined with similar weakness observed in western Kanata and Goulbourn represent the main drags to March starts.

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.

To view the figures associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/OttawaENG.pdf

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Ottawa Housing Starts