December 2012 Housing Starts in New Brunswick

Construction/Building — January 9, 2013

MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK--(Marketwire - Jan. 9, 2013) - Housing starts in New Brunswick were trending at 2,806 units in December, 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 1,640 units in December, down from 2,178 in November.

"The trend in residential construction activity in New Brunswick's urban centres in December highlighted a moderate deceleration in activity compared to the previous month," said Claude Gautreau, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for New Brunswick. "Total actual housing starts for the year were up from last year's total, in large part due to strong construction activity in the Greater Moncton rental market," continued Gautreau.

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, analysing 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.

Multiple starts added 32 actual units in December of this year compared to 120 units during the same period last year. Single starts, with 91 actual units in December, were up slightly from the 84 units reported a year ago. For the year, total starts were up 3 per cent to 2,543 actual units, supported in large part by increased activity in the construction of multi-residential dwellings.

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.

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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 graph is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Newbrunswickhousing_eng.pdf

Preliminary Housing Start Data
December 2012
Province, Centres 10,000+			December 2011	December 2012
	Actual, urban centres¹
		December - Single-Detached	84	91
		December - Multiples	120	32
		December - Total	204	123
		January to December - Single-Detached	1,072	1,097
		January to December - Multiples	1,387	1,446
		January to December - Total	2,459	2,543
			November 2012	December 2012
	SAAR², urban centres¹
		Total	2,178	1,640

Source: CMHC

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

² Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates

Detailed data available upon request.

New Brunswick Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
December / 2011-2012
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Urban Centres 100,000⁺
Moncton CMA	34	30	97	18	131	48
Saint John CMA	19	16	0	6	19	22


Urban Centres 50,000-99,999
Fredericton	21	32	23	6	44	38


Total Urban Starts¹	84	91	120	32	204	123
New Brunswick Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
January to December / 2011-2012
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Urban Centres 100,000⁺
Moncton CMA	384	364	810	933	1,194	1,297
Saint John CMA	220	190	141	165	361	355

Urban Centres 50,000-99,999
Fredericton CA	339	367	391	267	730	634

Total Urban Starts¹	1,072	1,097	1,387	1,446	2,459	2,543


New Brunswick Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
Fourth Quarter / 2011-2012
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Urban Centres 10,000 - 49,999
Bathurst CA	12	11	0	10	12	21
Campbellton CA	4	5	0	0	4	5
Edmundston CA	3	3	0	4	3	7
Miramichi CA	13	19	0	2	13	21

Urban Centres 10,000 - 49,999	32	38	0	16	32	54
New Brunswick Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data
January to December / 2011-2012
Urban Centres	Single-Detached		Multiples		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Urban Centres 10,000 - 49,999
Bathurst CA	60	59	37	49	97	108
Campbellton CA	10	24	4	0	14	24
Edmundston CA	18	34	4	4	22	38
Miramichi CA	41	59	0	28	41	87

Urban Centres 10,000 - 49,999	129	176	45	81	174	257

Contact Information

Market Analysis Contact:
Claude Gautreau
506-851-2742
Cell: 506-866-9002
cgautrea@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

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