MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK -- (Marketwire) -- 05/08/12 -- Residential construction activity in New Brunswick's urban centres declined in April according to figures released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Preliminary data(1) indicate that a total of 115 starts were recorded during the month compared to 153 starts for the same period in 2011.

"The decline in housing starts observed in provincial urban centres during April was limited to multi- residential units, as the number of single starts was unchanged for the month," said Claude Gautreau, CMHC's senior market analyst for New Brunswick. Single starts in April totalled 65 units in provincial urban centres, which was identical to last year's total for the month. Multiple starts were down to 50 units from last year's April total of 88 units.

In urban centres across Canada, total housing starts recorded in April were up 29 per cent to 19,188 units compared to 14,865 a year ago. Single-detached starts increased three per cent to 5,945 units, while multiple starts increased 45 per cent to 13,243 units in April. In the Atlantic region, 529 new units were started compared to 615 during April 2011.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of high 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.

For more information, visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642. CMHC Market Analysis standard reports are also available free for download at CMHC Housing Market Information.

(1) Figures for the most recent month are preliminary and subject to revisions due to corrections or updates from quarterly enumeration or sampling results.

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                PRELIMINARY URBAN MONTHLY HOUSING STARTS               
                         NEW BRUNSWICK SUMMARY                         
                                                                       
                   2012      2011                 YEAR-TO-DATE         
                                  % Change                     % Change
             --------------------         --------------------         
                    APR       APR               2012      2011         
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        ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATIONS greater than 50,000        
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SAINT JOHN CMA                                                         
Single               13        19   -31.6%        30        42   -28.6%
Multiple              2        12   -83.3%        19        27   -29.6%
TOTAL                15        31   -51.6%        49        69   -29.0%
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MONCTON CMA                                                            
Single               20        20     0.0%        42        31    35.5%
Multiple             34        70   -51.4%       122        72    69.4%
TOTAL                54        90   -40.0%       164       103    59.2%
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FREDERICTON CA                                                         
Single               24        19    26.3%        51        56    -8.9%
Multiple             14         4      # #        18         8      # #
TOTAL                38        23    65.2%        69        64     7.8%
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        ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION greater than 10,000(i)       
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ALL CENTRES                                                            
Single               65        65     0.0%       143       138     3.6%
Multiple             50        88   -43.2%       159       109    45.9%
TOTAL               115       153   -24.8%       302       247    22.3%
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Figures for the most recent month are preliminary and subject to       
revisions due to corrections or updates from quarterly enumeration or  
sampling results.                                                      
                                                                       
(i) Includes all centres with a total population of more than 10,000   
(Saint John CMA, Moncton CMA, Fredericton CA, Bathurst CA, Campbellton 
CA, Edmundston CA, and Miramichi CA).                                  
                                                                       
## Indicates changes in excess of 100% which are not reported due to   
volatility resulting from small absolute numbers.