Housing starts, sales and prices to jump, says Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

A new report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation suggests BC’s housing market may nearing the end of a slow period.

Released on Thursday, the report forecasts housing starts, sales and prices will stabilize in 2020 before “accelerating” in 2021.

New housing starts will see relatively strong growth thanks to favorable economic conditions with CMHC estimating a high of 44,700 housing starts in 2020 followed by a high of 46,900 in 2021.

CMHC projects that home sales in BC will outpace much of the country, despite the recent downturn in the market.

According to the agency, BC saw a stark decline from 2017 when 103,000 total sales were recorded to only 78,000 in 2018.

However, CMHC is projecting as many as 84,400 home sales in 2020 and a high of 90,800 in 2021.

An uptick in prices is also expected to follow the climbing sales trend as concerns around overvaluation have dampened.

CMHC forecasts a benchmark price range of $675,100 to $749,500 in 2020, and $718,400 to $801,600.