WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s new-homes market is expected to perform a little better than was first thought this year, and its resale homes market a little worse, according to the latest quarterly forecast from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
The agency said in its Second Quarter Housing Market Outlook report released today that it now expects 6,300 new housing starts this year in Manitoba — 217 more than in 2011 and 150 more than it was forecasting in February when it released its first-quarter report.
However, the ongoing tight supply of properties for sale in Winnipeg is now expected to curb resale-home sales more than was first thought, it said. So it’s now forecasting Multiple Listing Service (MLS) sales for Manitoba of 14,100 units this year. While that would be 156 more than in 2011, it also would be 100 fewer than CMHC was forecasting in February.
Tight MLS inventories are also expected to lead to increased competition for desirable properties in Winnipeg, which will drive selling prices higher than expected. It’s now predicting Manitoba’s average MLS selling price will rise by four per cent to $243,900 this year from $234,604 in 2011. That’s one per cent more than it was predicting in its first-quarter report.
Nationally, CMHC expects both new and existing home markets to moderate through the end of the year.
The agency is predicting housing starts in Canada will be in the range of 182,300 to 220,600 units, while sales of existing homes will be in the range of 431,200 to 516,100 units .
It said the average MLS selling price is expected to climb by two or three per cent to between $341,100 and $406,700, which would be consistent with balanced market conditions.
murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca
