New Homes
New Homes
Never been a better time to build a new home
THE latest housing forecast summary was released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation last week and the news is good for all aspects of housing in Winnipeg and Manitoba.
New-home starts in Winnipeg in 2011 will be on a par with the numbers achieved in 2010. Before you ask why standing pat at last year's pace is considered good, you should know that last year represented the most new- home starts in Winnipeg and Manitoba in the past 23 years ---- 3,244 and 5,888 starts respectively.
Overall, starts in Manitoba outside of Winnipeg were reforecast to be down slightly this year. This is a logical premise given the flooding conditions that existed throughout a significant part of the province.
Housing start numbers will continue to be strong throughout 2012 as there are no signs of easing back.
These numbers will hold true for single-family detached houses and for the multi-family sector. Condominiums, townhouses and row houses continue to be in demand, especially in Winnipeg. The city still has one of the lowest apartment vacancy rates in Canada, making that niche attractive to select builders.
How does Manitoba continue to produce such optimistic numbers? It's a variety of factors, never just one thing. Our unemployment rate continues to be among the lowest in Canada. Our GDP continues to grow at around two per cent. After a long series of double-digit price increases in resale homes, 2011 will represent an increase, but a softer one at around four per cent. New-home prices are increasing at approximately the same pace.
One interesting factor to note is that the price of land has been increasing much faster than the price of a new home, primarily due to some externally imposed charges that will be addressed at a later date. Inventory in single- and multi-family homes is quite low so there is very little on the market not already spoken for.
Given that the price of a resale home in Winnipeg is $67,000 less than in Saskatoon and $161,000 less than Calgary, this is still one of the most affordable places in the West to buy or build a new home. All indications for the rest of this year and 2012 are that there's never been a better time or place to build a new home.
Mike Moore is president of the Manitoba Home Builders' Association.
New Homes
Slow and steady approach serves province well
I just returned from the fall meetings of the Canadian Home Builders' Association and it was extremely interesting to hear current trends and future projections on both regional and national levels. We tend to be isolated in Manitoba, given that we have enjoyed steady growth and strong employment for some time.
All indications are that Canada will continue with its solid economy with a 2.5 per cent growth rate in 2012. Interest rates for new home mortgages continue to be at staggeringly great rates in the four per cent range and will likely stay in that neighbourhood over the next three or four quarters.
With our national full-time job growth exceeding our part-time job trend, Canadians will be in an even better position economically as it relates to the purchase of a new home. Uncertainty about the European economic situation tends to promote caution, but that's our style anyway.
New-home prices are still on an upward trend throughout most of Canada and definitely in Manitoba. The Canadian average projection is around 2.5 per cent with British Columbia being the only exception. The confusion caused there by the implementation and then the repeal vote of the Harmonized Sales Tax has brought the new-home market to a standstill.
Very few people are making major purchases until the previous tax regime is restored so that they can save money that would otherwise be taken away by the HST.
Manitoba seems to be bucking a national trend in renovations. Where other provinces have experienced a slight decline in renovation spending after the sale of resale homes, we still want to renew and revitalize before assuming full possession. This may be a product of our older housing stock.
Housing starts in Canada continue to grow. Projections for 2011 exceed 190,000. Much of this optimism is based on the Toronto and Calgary condominium markets combined with a surge in the resale market.
In Manitoba, we enjoyed 5,888 new home starts in 2010. All indications are that this year is tracking close to last year, a year in which we had the most new home starts in 23 years.
Given our natural aversion to risk, this slow and steady approach to big-ticket spending has served us well in recent years and will continue to do so in the future.
Mike Moore is president of the Manitoba Home Builders' Association.
New Homes
Manitoba leads way in home renovations
FOR almost 20 years, the Canadian Home Builders' Association has been promoting October as Renovation Month across the country. It is the only countrywide marketing campaign dedicated exclusively to Canada's renovation industry.
In addition to the national campaign, each local home builders' association develops its own unique way of promoting the industry. The Manitoba Home Builders' Association is also extremely proud of the excellence of the renovation industry and the members promoting it.
As has been mentioned previously in this column, the MHBA introduced the first virtual RenoMark Renovation Parade last year. Ten highly informative and unique videos featuring terrific renovation projects by some of Manitoba's top renovators can be viewed on the MHBA website at www.homebuilders.mb.ca . Just look on the left side of the home page under Virtual Renovation Parade, click and enjoy.
In addition to the Parade, our annual Renovation Awards are also in full swing. This year, we are proud to present 42 separate renovation projects by 10 different professional renovators. Judging by a panel of experts will take place next week, with the RenoMark Renovator Awards Night on Friday, Nov. 4.
Manitoba has always been the leader in home renovations in Canada and the market continues to be strong here. Given that Winnipeg has the third-oldest housing stock in Canada, home renovations are an important component to our residences.
New ideas are featured at the Fall Parade of Homes and the tens of thousands of visitors look to see how they can incorporate new designs, colours, features and materials into their existing homes. Suppliers to the new home industry brought out their best during the Parade and now consumers want to know how they can update their homes with a renovation.
As always, the Manitoba Home Builders' Association and our RenoMark renovators urge everyone to get your renovation agreement in writing. Make sure that your contractor outlines all costs in advance so that both parties know what to expect.
If you are at all in doubt as to what to ask and what to look for in a renovator, go to the RenoMark website at www.renomark.ca/Manitoba and follow the guidelines posted.
Mike Moore is president of the Manitoba Home Builders' Association.
New Homes
A new home can also be a new beginning
WHEN we say in this column that a new home is a good investment, it often only gets taken one way. Unfortunately, some people see the word investment and only think of it in terms of money. We invest in stocks, bonds or precious metals to make money, so naturally, many people think that an investment in a new home has a goal of making money.
Recent years in our local market has proven that to be true, but also limited in scope. Real estate reports indicate that in eight of the last nine years, values in the resale home market have increased by double digits.
Couple that with the fact that Winnipeg has less than half the listings per capita than Calgary or Saskatoon and again one could not be faulted for buying a new home for the expressed purpose of seeing it appreciate in value before selling it in a local market that has tremendous demand.
However, most of us are also investors in lifestyle and well-being. A new home is more than just money. It's where we want to live, where we want to develop friendships with neighbours; where we want our children to go to school; where we want to shop and want to raise our family.
A new home can be a new beginning. Many people grow up in one neighbourhood and then, when it comes time to buy their own new home, look in that familiar neighbourhood because it brings a sense of comfort.
However, what they often fail to take into account is that although that neighbourhood was a tremendous place for them to be raised, it might not offer the same amenities a generation later.
The excitement of a new beginning in a new home allows you the opportunity to choose your future. Living within a reasonable distance of where you like to shop is a consideration. Some people are influenced by the proximity of green space. Others look for community clubs and recreational and social contacts.
A new home permits you to shape your future and the future of your family. Whether you are the first house built on the street or the last, you are part of a new and thriving neighbourhood that is going to grow together to establish its own identity.
Mike Moore is president of the Manitoba Home Builders' Association.