CMHC forecasts increased housing shortages in Around Town

June 1, 2023

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has released its Housing Market Outlook.

In 2023, CMHC expects builders and developers to focus on completing the record number of units currently under construction before starting new projects. Expectations for lower home prices, retreating demand for new homes, rising labour costs, elevated interest rates, and tougher financing conditions will limit new projects by developers and builders. 

Highlights for Vancouver Island follow the National trend, including: 

• High mortgage costs will continue to curb resale transactions in the short term.
• Financing challenges and labour constraints will limit new construction.
• The rental market will tighten with rents pushing higher.
• Housing starts will decline in 2023 before recovering in 2024, and will remain below the record high seen in 2021.

The expected ease in interest rates in 2024 will likely see developers resume planning projects in anticipation of demand recovering. 

The Housing Market Outlook (HMO) is published annually. It helps anticipate emerging trends in new-home and resale housing markets at the national and metropolitan-area levels. 

Source: CMHC – download the complete report here: bit.ly/cmhc2023forcast

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