Sun
TORONTO — Some of the fire is set to fizzle out of Canada‘s housing market as construction, sales and price growth ease off over the coming year, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says.
Housing starts are expected to reach 223,600 units this year, slipping 4.2 per cent from last year’s 17-year high.
And residential construction will dip further still in 2006, to 207,200 units. Although starts appear to be quickly levelling off, next year is still expected to be the fifth consecutive year that starts exceed 200,000, CMHC said yesterday.
Meanwhile, sales of existing homes are forecast to hit a record of 476,000 units this year but dip to 453,700 units in 2006.
House prices, growing by a whopping 10.2 per cent this year, are expected to increase by only 4.9 per cent next year as the market rebalances, CMHC said.
© The Vancouver Province 2005
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