October 2012 Housing Starts in Prince Edward Island

Construction/Building — November 8, 2012

MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK--(Marketwire - Nov. 8, 2012) - Housing starts in Prince Edward Island (PEI) were trending at 847 units in October, 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 646 units in October, down from 1,102 in September.

"For the month of October, new home construction was below the 2011 level, due to a decrease in actual single starts in Charlottetown. On a year-to-date basis, total actual starts in the province's urban centres are above 2011 levels, with gains in both multiple and single starts," 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 19 actual units in October 2012. Multiple starts totaled 35 actual units in October compared to 34 units reported in October of last year. Year-to-date total starts have reached 563 actual units, up from 541 units during the same period last year. Overall, across the urban centres in the province, total starts this year remained ahead of 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

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A graphic is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/CMHC_PEIa1108.pdf

Preliminary Housing Start Data
October / 2011-2012
Province, Centres 10,000+			October 2011	October 2012
	Actual, urban centres¹
		October - Single-Detached	27	19
		October - Multiples	34	35
		October - Total	61	54
		January to October - Single-Detached	195	197
		January to October - Multiples	346	366
		January to October - Total	541	563
			September 2012	October 2012
	SAAR², urban centres¹
		Total	1,102	646

Source: CMHC

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

² Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates

Detailed data available upon request.

Prince Edward Island Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
October / 2011-2012
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Urban Centres 10,000⁺

Charlottetown CA	25	15	28	14	53	29
Summerside CA	2	4	6	21	8	25
Total Urban Starts	27	19	34	35	61	54

Prince Edward Island Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
January to October / 2011-2012
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples			Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Urban Centres 10,000⁺

Charlottetown CA	162	177	270	326	432	503
Summerside CA	33	20	76	40	109	60
Total Urban Starts	195	197	346	366	541	563

Contact Information

Market Analysis Contact:
Jason Beaton
506-851-6047
Cell: 506-874-3989
jbeaton@cmhc.ca

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