Construction crews enjoy busiest November since 1989
Winnipeg Free Press
Thursday December 9 2004
By Murray McNeill
WINNIPEG-AREA homebuilders had their busiest November since 1989 last month, as unseasonably warm weather and a continued strong demand for new homes kept construction crews working full bore.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said yesterday there were 156 single-family housing starts recorded last month in the Winnipeg Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), which includes the City of Winnipeg and 10 surrounding bedroom communities such as Headingley, Springfield and East and West St. Paul.
That was 21 per cent more than the 129 recorded in November of last year, and the highest November total since 1989.
Nationally, Canadian housing starts rose in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 238,200 units from 225,000 in October and are on pace for the best year since 1987, CMHC said.
In Manitoba, the strong showing on the single-family side wasn't enough to offset a 77.9 per cent decline in multiple-family housing starts, which fell to 17 units from 77 in November of last year. That left total housing starts for the month at 173 units, which was a 16 per cent drop from November of last year.
The large number of single-family starts was a continuation of a trend which has seen local homebuilders outperform last year's monthly totals (for single-family starts) in every month except January, when bitterly cold weather slowed construction activity. But cold weather certainly wasn't a problem in November. "Builders have certainly been able to take advantage of the late start to winter and have kept their output high," Dianne Himbeault, CMHC's senior market analyst for Manitoba, said in a news release announcing the November numbers.
"With demand fueled by Manitoba's strong economy and continued low mortgage rates, the homebuilding industry has been operating flat-out for the last three years."
Garth Steek, president of the Manitoba Home Builders Association, said recent publicity about a pending shortage of serviced building lots in Winnipeg is also helping fuel increased demand for new single-family homes. He said some homebuyers are buying now to beat an anticipated price increase next year.
"We've already seen an escalation in lot prices and we know that come (next) spring, prices will be higher again," he said in an interview. "So people know that from the affordability point of view, this is the best time to buy."
CMHC noted that despite the decline in total starts in November, starts in Manitoba for the first 11 months of the year were still running 2.6 per cent ahead of last year for the same period (2,361 compared to 2,301).
As was the case in November, it was single-family starts that led the way during the first 11 months, with a 17.3 per cent increase in the Winnipeg CMA compared to a 25.8 per cent decrease in multi-family starts. Himbeault said although multi-family sector hasn't been as active this year as last year, the 581 starts for the first 11 months is still 46 per cent greater than the five-year annual average of 398 units.
CMHC also noted that while there's been a decline in multi-family starts this year in the Winnipeg CMA, the opposite is true for Manitoba's second-largest urban centre. CMHC said the 176 multi-family starts recorded so far this year in Brandon is three times the 54 recorded in the first 11 months of last year.
The single-family segment of the Brandon market is also thriving, with starts running 18 per cent ahead of last year after 11 months, CMHC added.
Himbeault attributed the strong demand for new housing in Brandon to a combination of things, including an influx of new immigrant workers and military personnel. The latter moved to Brandon after the Second Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry moved to nearby Shilo from Winnipeg.