Housing starts to dip from 2010

Canadian housing starts will slow this year and existing-home sales will grow as housing falls more in line with "demographic fundamentals," according to the latest housing outlook from Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. The Crown agency said it expects housing starts will range between 166,600 and 192,200 units in 2011, with a point forecast of 179,500. That's a slight dip from 2010 numbers, when Canada had 189,930 housing starts. "Modest economic growth, in conjunction with relatively low mortgage rates, will continue to support demand for new homes in 2011 and 2012," said Bob Dugan, CMHC's chief economist. "Nonetheless, we are expecting new and existing housing markets to fall in line with demographic fundamentals as changes to mortgage rules take hold." CMHC expects housing starts to grow again in 2012, with a forecast of 163,200 to 207,000 starts, and a point forecast of 185,300 units.