OTTAWA, May 8, 2006 - The seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of housing starts was 218,100 units in April, down from 251,700 units in March, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). "Multiple starts gave back all the gains registered last month," said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC's Market Analysis Centre. "In contrast to the volatility in multiple starts, the pace of single starts is slowing consistently as expected." The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts declined 14.9 per cent to 187,000 units. Urban multiple starts were down 21.5 per cent to 96,500 units comparing April to March, while singles were down 6.4 per cent to 90,500 units. In April, urban housing starts declined in all regions. Strong declines in multiples pulled down urban starts by 24.7 per cent in Quebec and 20.0 per cent in the Prairies. In Ontario, total urban starts were down 12.2 per cent with single urban starts declining more than multiples. The declines in the Atlantic region and British Columbia were relatively modest at 6.5 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively. Rural starts in April were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 31,100. In the first four months of 2006, actual urban starts were up 8.3 per cent when compared to the same period a year earlier. Nationally, year-to-date actual urban multiple starts were up 9.3 per cent and singles were up 7.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2005. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has been Canada's national housing agency for over 60 years. CMHC is committed to helping Canadians access a wide choice of quality, affordable homes, while making vibrant, healthy communities and cities a reality across the country. For more information call 1 (800) 668-2642. 1 All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts, are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) - that is, monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels. Information on this release: Bob Dugan CMHC (613) 748-4009 bdugan@cmhc-schl.gc.ca For regional starts information contact: Atlantic provinces: Alex MacDonald CMHC (902) 426-8964 amacdona@cmhc-schl.gc.ca Quebec: Kevin Hughes CMHC (514) 283-4488 khughes@cmhc-schl.gc.ca Ontario: Ted Tsiakopoulos CMHC (416) 218-3407 ttsiakop@cmhc-schl.gc.ca Prairie provinces: Richard Corriveau CMHC (403) 515-3005 rcorrive@cmhc-schl.gc.ca British Columbia: Carol Frketich CMHC (604) 737-4067 cfrketic@cmhc-schl.gc.ca Housing Starts, Actual and SAAR* Actual SAAR April 2005 April 2006 March 2006 April 2006 Final Preliminary Final Preliminary Canada, all areas 22,257 20,298 251,700 218,100 Canada, rural areas 2,865 2,877 32,000 31,100 Canada, urban centres** 19,392 17,421 219,700 187,000 Canada, singles, urban centres 9,324 8,539 96,700 90,500 Canada, multiples, urban centres 10,068 8,882 123,000 96,500 Atlantic region, urban centres 679 617 9,300 8,700 Quebec, urban centres 5,280 3,983 48,100 36,200 Ontario, urban centres 7,140 5,482 69,900 61,400 Prairie region, urban centres 3,660 3,860 54,100 43,300 British Columbia, urban centres 2,633 3,479 38,300 37,400 Source: CMHC *Seasonally adjusted annual rates ** Urban centres with a population of 10,000 persons and over. Detailed data available upon request.
