July Housing Starts Decline in St. Catharines-Niagara

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Aug. 9, 2011) - Preliminary data released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) for the St.Catharines-Niagara Census Metropolitan Area(i) (CMA) show total housing starts in July declined to 108 units in July compared to 137 units in the same month last year. Despite the decline, this is the first time since 2008 that there were four consecutive months of at least 100 starts.

The decline in total starts is mainly due to fewer single-detached homes. The number of single-detached starts declined by 35 per cent in St.Catharines-Niagara CMA compared to July 2010 while the number of row home starts doubled during that same time period. There were only two semi-detached and no apartment starts in July.

"After a slow beginning to the year, housing starts increased every month until they peaked in May. New home starts have since stabilized in June and July with 105 and 108 housing starts respectively," said Anthony Adrien, Market Analyst with CMHC. "With the resale market cooling since the start of the year, we can expect the same in the new home market. Housing starts increased in Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Thorold in July on a year-to-date basis, but this was not enough to offset the decline in municipalities such as St.Catharines and Lincoln," added Adrien.

To view a map of the "St.Catherines - Niagara CMA" and "Monthly Housing Starts" chart, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/katsch2e.pdf

To view Table 1 and Table 2, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/katch2e.pdf

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable homes. 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 vital decisions.

(i) Statistics Canada defines a census metropolitan area (CMA) as one or more adjacent municipalities integrated with an urban core. A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000 of which 50,000 or more must live in the urban core.

For more information, please visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642.

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