CBC Winnipeg
Price of new houses skyrockets
WINNIPEG - The cost of building a new home is rising faster in Winnipeg than almost anywhere else in Canada.
The price of a new house in Winnipeg jumped 8.5 per cent in the past year, according to Statistics Canada – the second-largest increase in the country after Victoria, B.C.
The increasing cost is being blamed on an increase in the price of materials. The cost of some materials, such as concrete and steel used in basements and the wood for flooring, has increased almost 40 per cent.
Kerry Dyck is moving in to a new home by the end of this week. He says prices have jumped considerably since he started planning to build a year ago.
"If you're going to continue to build your house, then you just have to bite the cost on that," he says. "Either that or you're left with a half-finished house!"
Manitoba Home Builders Association spokesman Garth Steek says costs have also increased because the provincial sales tax is now applied to some professional services involved in house construction, such as mechanical and electrical services.
Even with the increasing cost, Winnipeggers are building more new homes than most other Canadians. Steek says buyers can afford to pay a bit more these days.
"Because of the very attractive elements in the marketplace – low mortgage rates, people know that they're realizing peak dollar when they're selling older housing – it's giving them a greater degree of equity to put into a new home," he says.
According to Statistics Canada, the price of a new home in Winnipeg increased almost four per cent from May 2004 to June 2004.