St. John's, June 8, 2007 - Urban housing starts dipped in May, according to preliminary data released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). For the month of May, total housing starts dipped 18 per cent, with 128 posted across provincial urban centres versus 156 during May of 2006. Of the 128 total starts, 124 were recorded within the St. John's region compared to 131 last May. Year-to-date total housing starts of 343, equals the number of starts posted during the same period last year within the St. John's region.
"Despite May's dip in total provincial housing starts, we are still on par with the overall level of residential construction activity recorded across the province last year," said Chris Janes, Senior Market Analyst with CMHC in Newfoundland and Labrador. "In fact, within the St. John's region, there were seven fewer homes started compared to last May and the year-to-date total starts number of 343 is actually the same number recorded during the first five months of 2006," added Janes.
For Canada's urban centres, total housing starts headed five per cent higher to 18,889 in May over May of 2006. Single-detached starts dropped three per cent to 9,026 while multiple starts of 9,863 represent a 15 per cent increase compared to last May.
In Atlantic Canada, there were 788 urban housing starts, down four per cent over the same month last year.
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