Last week, in the business section of the Winnipeg Free Press, there were two articles regarding the new home industry side by side.
The first was a national article that reported a large, one-month drop in activity from October of this year. The primary culprit was the multi-family sector and the single-family detached market remained robust.
It went on to state that two-thirds of the multi market decline was due to inactivity in Toronto.
Of course, it didn't say that Toronto was experiencing one of its best years on record for the multi-family sector in 2011. This "one-month emergency" or brief snapshot in time was just that.
This Canadian Press article went on to speculate about corrections, a drop in prices, the U.S. housing market and over-evaluations. It concluded by stating that Canada has been experiencing a robust housing market and that our market has avoided the housing bubble that hit the U.S. A chief economist then went on to say that these lower numbers are hardly troubling and not at all surprising.
Right beside this article was one by Murray McNeill. It reported Winnipeg's new home industry was soaring towards a 22-year high in single-family detached housing starts. Quoting Diane Himbeault from the CMHC, he stated that multi-family starts were even stronger, more than doubling the number in the previous month.
Especially satisfying was the fact that row homes have more than doubled over last year, thereby demonstrating local focus on housing affordability.
It was an excellent article that reported our local scene as strong and thriving, without any attempt to undermine our economic success by way of fears elsewhere.
As has been stated in this column many times, national organizations often depict Canada as being nothing more than two or three major urban centres. It is much more than that. It is a collection of big cities and small towns.
Manitoba and Winnipeg may only represent 3.5 per cent of Canada's population, but we take a back seat to nobody when it comes to economic and housing success. We will continue to grow and thrive.
The difference in new-home start trends from other parts of Canada only serve to further demonstrate this is where people want to live and raise their families, in an affordable and friendly province.
Mike Moore is president of the Manitoba Home Builders' Association.
