Canadian Housing Starts to Hold Steady in 2014: CMHC
Canadian Housing Starts to Hold Steady in 2014: CMHC

OTTAWA, ON - Housing starts in Canada should stay on a steady track in 2014, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC) latest Housing Market Outlook.

Canadian Housing Starts to Hold Steady in 2014: CMHCCMHC is projecting 184,700 housing units to begin construction next year, down ever so slightly from the 185,000 units expected to have been started this year come Dec. 31. The forecast lags the historically high 214,827 homes started in 2012.

While new housing is expected to remain stable, CMHC says sales of new and existing homes are expected to hit 468,200 units in 2014, up 2.5% from 2013 and up 3.1% from 2012. Average home prices are up about 4.0% this year to $378,000 and are seen rising an additional 1.9% to $285,200 next year.

"In the new home market, builders are... expected to limit the number of housing starts while inventories of unabsorbed units, completed and under construction, are drawn down,” said Mathieu Laberge, deputy chief economist for CMHC. “In the resale market, home buyers have been motivated to advance their purchases and lock-in pre-qualified mortgages given the recent moderate increase in mortgage rates."

View CMHC's Fourth Quarter Housing Market Outlook.

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