New Homes

New Homes

Spring Parade has something for everyone

The 2013 Spring Parade of Homes officially opens at noon today and runs through Sunday, March 24. The Manitoba Home

Builders' Association is proud to present 124 new homes on display for everyone to enjoy.

Show home hours are Monday through Thursday from 3-8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday noon-6 p.m. Show homes are closed on Fridays except by prior appointment.

Sales staff are in each home, ready to explain its unique and special features. Feel free to ask lots of questions about the various builders and suppliers. After all, MHBA new-home builders pride themselves on building the best new homes in Canada.

Each visitor is sure to come away with new ideas and concepts to incorporate into their new home.

This year, 37 builders are featuring the finest new homes in 30 unique neighbourhoods. Both single-family-detached homes and condominiums are on display.

In addition to Winnipeg, there will be show homes in eight other cities and towns, thereby expanding and serving a larger audience. Quality, choice and affordability are all key components for each new home.

The Spring Parade of Homes has something for everyone. If you are looking for that first new home, this is your opportunity to see the widest variety at one time. If you're considering selling your existing home for more space, less space, more yard, less yard, newer amenities and a different design, everything that you could possibly be looking for is featured at the Spring Parade of Homes.

If you're thinking of making some changes in your existing home, nowhere else will you see so many new and dynamic building styles and techniques as the Spring Parade. If you just want to see the best of the best and envision your dream home, this is the place to do it. Your new home dream starts with the Spring Parade of Homes.

If you missed the Parade magazine in your Winnipeg Free Press home delivery, it is available online at www.homebuilders.mb.ca or www.winnipegfreepress.com. You can also pick up a copy at any Steinbach Credit Union.

Another special feature of the Spring Parade of Homes will be the interactive discussion occurring on Facebook and Twitter. We invite Parade attendees to submit their comments and questions.

Come early and come often to the Spring Parade of Homes.

 

Mike Moore is president of the Manitoba Home Builders' Association.

By Mike Moore
March 2

New Homes

A snapshot of Manitoba's housing scene

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation recently identified 10 key factors that impact housing-market activity. Although the analysis was from a national perspective, let's drill down to the Manitoba scene.

-- Mortgage rates

Continued historically low mortgage rates will help support housing demand nationally and locally. The good news is that mortgage rates are not expected to increase significantly this year or next.

-- Employment

Employment is forecast to grow 1.9 per cent nationally, and Manitoba is traditionally a leader in low unemployment rates. People who are confident in their employment status look for stability in purchasing homes.

-- Income

Growth in income at both levels is expected to be modest, commensurate with economic growth.

-- Net migration

Although Canada is expected to continue attracting more immigrants, which positively impacts housing demand, the Manitoba government has stressed the need to continue the extremely successful Provincial Nominee Program.

-- Natural population

Although lower birth rates will lessen demand for additional housing stock, our aging population will impact the type and tenure of housing demanded.

-- Resale market

Manitoba has consistently outperformed the rest of Canada in resale activity. Although average MLS prices may not increase at previous levels, there is still tremendous demand for resale housing here. A positive resale trend usually means the same in the new home market.

-- Vacancy rates

Vacancy rates across Canada are expected to decline to two per cent. They're already lower than that locally. Low vacancy rates support new multi-family construction.

-- Stock of new and unoccupied units

As Manitobans, we tend to be cautious. We build what we can sell, or already have sold. There is far less speculative building and so fewer unoccupied inventory homes here than elsewhere.

-- Changes to mortgage insurance rules

The recent changes to government-backed mortgage insurance through the CMHC had an immediate impact on new home sales, as qualification standards meant a re-evaluation of personal finances. Any additional changes would further impact home-buying, both nationally and locally.

Mike Moore is president of the Manitoba Home Builders' Association.

 

Mike Moore
February 16

New Homes

Worst fears of economic collapse abate

A year ago, Canadians were worried about the impact that outside influences were going to have on our economy.

With a couple of European countries looking like their economies were going to collapse, there was a concern of a Euro Zone breakup. The situation in the United States wasn't looking any better, and politicians seemed to be more concerned about the election than fixing the country's finances.

There was also a great deal of speculation in Canada concerning rising interest rates.

Although everyone is far from being out of the woods yet, our fears of the past year did not come to realization, much to our relief. Europe did not fall apart and is trying to get its house in order.

This impacts Canada in that financial markets and homebuyer confidence would be affected by any change in order. The U.S. had its election and has not fallen over the fiscal cliff. It's some distance from recovery, but it hasn't collapsed.

It appears as though the market for new homes in the U.S. is starting to grow again. Naturally, there are various pockets where severe unemployment and past over-growth will keep rejuvenation slow. However, other markets that had been quiet for the past few years are starting to show gradual signs of growth.

The U.S. has tied its monetary policy and interest rates to unemployment figures. As long as unemployment remains above 6.5 per cent, interest rates will remain relatively unchanged. It's not anticipated the unemployment rate will dip below this figure until 2015 at the earliest. Expect Canadian banks not to stray too far from U.S. rates.

It should be noted that U.S. renovation spending plunged by more than 25 per cent since 2007. To date, it has not shown any signs of recovery. But the opposite is true in Canada. As soon as it appeared things might cool as the recession loomed, the Home Renovation Tax Credit brought new life to the industry. It hasn't looked back since.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions reduced the borrowing-to-equity ratio from 80 to 65 per cent, which may impact the number of larger renovations going forward.

Although 2013 is predicted to be a slow-growth year, it's a growth year nonetheless. Canada, and in particular Manitoba, are still moving forward throughout this year.

Mike Moore is president of the Manitoba Home Builders' Association.

Mike Moore
February 9

New Homes

Getting our mortgage debt under control

Although mortgage debt remains a topic of concern for most Canadians, spending trends indicate that growth in mortgage debt is actually declining.

While the gross debt may still be increasing as there are more people and more houses each year, the rate of growth has slowed substantially. This past year was slower than 2011, and both were considerably slower than the peak year of 2007.

Non-mortgage debt is down to less than one-third of peak levels. This makes sense as some homeowners are consolidating higher-interest non-mortgage debt into their mortgage with a more favourable rate.

Roughly half of homeowners in Canada have mortgages and, on average, they have about $160,000 in mortgage debt outstanding. That's about half the market value of their homes.

In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the average market value of a home is about $40,000 lower than the Canadian average, and our percentage of mortgage debt is the lowest in the country.

One of the ways that homeowners are planning their financial futures is by locking in mortgages at today's great rates. About 75 per cent of those active in the mortgage market in 2012 chose a fixed rate.

The recent change in amortization periods caused some initial concern as the take-up of longer amortization periods was significant. About one in three homes purchased from 2008 through 2011 involved mortgages amortized over 25 years.

However, further research indicates that homebuyers had a variety of reasons for doing so, with few related to the ability to access the home-ownership market.

More than 25 per cent indicated that longer amortization would permit them to buy a more expensive home. Another 24 per cent wanted to improve their cash flow for other spending in the early years of their mortgage.

It seems that flexibility was a key factor in determining a longer amortization, rather than affordability or accessibility. Nor does it appear that people were taking out longer amortizations in order to finance vacation homes or investment properties.

Although we must always be mindful of our debt load and mortgage levels, it does appear that Canadians, and especially those on the Prairies, are getting these numbers under control.

Sound financial planning is resulting in consumers purchasing the homes they want and within their means, while still maintaining the desired flexibility for other activities.

Mike Moore is president of the Manitoba Home Builders' Association.

Mike Moore
February 2