CMHC forecasts home building will increase next year
Housing agency expects prices to inch higher this year and next
Canada's national housing agency expects the pace of home construction to regain momentum through late 2013 and into 2014.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says the number of new homes being constructed has slowed this year, and that won't change much through the tail end of the year.
But the housing agency says the pace will pick up once the economy improves further in 2014, and migration patterns come into play.
Housing starts are expected to range between 173,300 to 192,500 units in 2013, with a point forecast or average of 182,900 units. That's after an average of 214,827 units in 2012. In 2014, housing starts are expected to range from 166,500 to 211,300 units, with a point forecast of 188,900 units, CMHC said in a release Tuesday.
On the price side, the CMHC expects average home prices to hover between $359,400 and $380,000 this year and between $362,400 and $392,200 in 2014.
The agency is calling for a 1.6 per cent gain in the average price to $369,700 for the year as a whole in 2013 and a further 2.1 per cent gain to $377,300 in 2014.
The Canadian Real Estate Association reported last week that the average price of a Canadian home resold last month was already higher than both of those figures, at $388,910.