CMHC SEPTEMBER HOUSING STARTS IN HALIFAX REPORT

Here's a report from CMHC on housing starts here in Halifax

September 2012 Housing Starts in Halifax


HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwire - Oct. 9, 2012) - Housing starts in Halifax, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 2,791 units in September, 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 4,698 units in September, down from 5,159 in August.

"After three quarters of the year, total housing starts activity was mixed in Halifax as single starts remain higher than last year and multiple starts continue to track lower," said Matthew Gilmore, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for Halifax. "Despite the year-to-date declines, apartment construction remains strong in historic terms," added Gilmore.

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 90 actual units in September 2012 compared to 105 units last year. Multiple starts totalled 321 actual units in September compared to 281 units reported in September of last year. Year-to-date total starts have reached 1,907 actual units with multiple starts at 1,165 units and single starts at 742 units. After three quarters of the year, total starts remain below the level recorded 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.

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Contact Information

Market Analysis Contact:
Matthew Gilmore
902-426-4686
Cell: 902-499-4382
mgilmore@cmhc.ca

Media Contact:
Patricia Montreuil
506-851-2229
Cell: 506-866-8047
pmontreu@cmhc.ca

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