New Home Starts to Recover in 2010

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:50:22 +0000

In 2010, new home building activity is expected to pick up in step with the recovering economy. New home starts are forecast to rise 13 per cent next year to 1,975 starts. However, the housing landscape will change with a smaller proportion of single-detached starts forecast in the coming years.
In their place will be more high-rise developments, and other smaller, lorise units such as condo and freehold townhouses. The trend toward smaller homes is already evident,and is consistent with demographicdata which suggests family sizes andhouseholds are expected to continueto shrink. Currently, less than half of the new homes started are single-detached homes, and this is a trend that will become more significant in the foreseeable future Also, land availability for single-detached home building is diminishing in some areas and thus,construction which uses land moreintensely is anticipated. For example,infill building is expected to increase in some of the older neighbourhoods such as the Mountain, where some school zones are already being re-designated for residential building. Many of the children from this area have grown up and moved out of the area,and the low fertility rate has meant that fewer schools will be needed. On the other hand, in areas where new subdivisions are still being created, such as Ancaster and Glanbrook, schools and other infrastructure are still necessary to service the neighbourhoods. The diminishing level of units under construction suggests that builders have been working to complete current projects this year to reduce inventory. Therefore, starts levels in 2010 will reflect market demand for new homes since they will not be greatly impacted by the need to sell completed units.

Zombie Subdivisions – The Living Dead of the Real Estate Market

admin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:46:07 +0000

If you live in an area that experienced high growth in 2005 and 2006 odds are you have a zombie subdivision in your community. You know what I am talking about, roads, lights, maybe even sidewalks installed around fields of weeds and brush. Perhaps there are a couple of homes built, maybe even a face that looks out from the home nervously when the rare car drives by.

The Zombie Subdivision. The living dead of real estate.

The Wilmington Star out of North Carolina had an interesting article on the phenomenon. Wilmington

and the surrounding area had a huge boom as people were leaving the northeast and moving to the ocean. Property values soared. Development was rampant. In Brunswick county, between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach, huge golf communities were planned and permitted. In 2005 and 2006. Ready to open just when the bottom fell out of the market.

These empty tracts, the shell is ready but there is no life, are the prime examples of zombie subdivisions.

It’s clear now to developers, bankers and real estate agencies that the planned development in Brunswick didn’t fit the market.

“What we saw from an appraisal and real estate point of view was that we really peaked about the third quarter of 2005,” said Tom Shoaf, a broker with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty. “But by then, the permits had been pulled for a lot these projects and stuff was getting in the ground, so they were past the point of no return.”

In the end, these developments will probably get moving again – though maybe not for the next couple of years, officials say.

“I foresee a slow, steady growth,” Brunswick County Assistant Attorney Jana Berg said.

But the homes will likely be cheaper, smaller and come with fewer perks.

reported by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

http://www.therealestatebloggers.com/2009/05/27/zombie-subdivisions-the-living-dead-of-the-real-estate-market/

Moishe Alexander and Canadian Funding Corporation Review CMHC Reports» Subdivisions

New Home Starts to Recover in 2010

Zombie Subdivisions – The Living Dead of the Real Estate Market