Moishe Alexander and Canadian Funding Corporation Review CMHC Reports

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.

Tags: activity, availability, Building, CONSTRUCTION, Development, economy, housing, increase, Infrastructure, Market, news, rate, subdivision, Subdivisions, townhouse, Trends
Posted in CMHC, New Home Starts