Housing starts “will moderate” in 2019

December 27, 2018

Expect more of the same in housing starts over the next two years, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) as “housing prices begin to slow to be more in line with economic fundamentals.”
In its annual outlook released Tuesday, December 18, the national housing agency forecast housing starts and sales to both decline in 2019 and 2020.
CMHC anticipates housing starts for single and multi-unit starts will fall to between 193,700 and 204,500 in 2019, while sales are expected come in between 478,400 and 497,400 units. Prices are anticipated to range from $501,400 and $521,600.
"Housing starts are expected to decline from the higher levels we've seen recently. We expect resales in 2019 and 2020 to remain below recent peaks while prices should reach levels that are more in line with economic fundamentals such as income, job and populations growth,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC chief economist.