Canadian Funding Corp Reviews CMHC Affordable Housing Reports

Part of my conversation with Garry Wise the other day included a discussion about: what to do with the Ontario Reports which every lawyer in Ontario receives on a weekly basis from the Law Society of Upper Canada?  As a new lawyer, I’ve been keeping them with the belief that they may have something useful one day.  Older and wiser lawyers have even told me that I should read up on the cases in my practice area as they will sharpen my skills and I may have to refer to them in the future.  But, truth be told, why is the Law Society of Upper Canada killing so many trees by not simply making the O.R.s digitally accessible?  Perhaps, as Garry Wise suggested in our conversation, an e-mail should be sent out to lawyers on a weekly or monthly basis with all the information we need succinctly organized in a few sentences and with links to the main article somewhere on the Law Society’s website?  I came across a recent blog by Ted Tjaden on Slaw that discusses that very same subject matter.   His post was also featured in the Law Times.  Perhaps the revenue that comes from advertising in print form won’t be as much in electronic format?  Perhaps the print form guarantees that all lawyers receive it, whereas the electronic version may not be accessible to all?   My take on this is: if and when I’m looking for it, I’ll find it online.  As such, I’m going to recycle the shelves of O.R.s I’ve been collecting under the mistaken assumption that I should be keeping them.  Goodbye clutter; hello digital age.  I encourage you to do the same.

Just for fun, I came up with this spoof on the Ontario Reports.  Enjoy…

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http://dynamiclawyers.com/DL_blog/ontario-reports-parody/17/

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CEO of canadian funding corp

Single starts activity moderates in 2009 but growth returns in 2010

Moishe Alexander, CEO, Canadian Funding Corporation reports that after the strongest two-year performance since the late 1970’s, Saskatoon single detached housing starts will decline to 600 units in 2009 and bounce back to 725 units in 2010. The 2009 singles forecast represents the lowest number of housing starts since 2001 when 542 single starts took place.

The moderation in activity compared to 2007 and 2008 is due to the effects of price escalation from previous years, heightened competition from resale housing, and a build up in the supply of new housing units. Reduced in-migration and lower employment gains in 2009 and 2010 will also play a role in this market adjustment.

Single-detached starts in the first three months of 2009 were below last year’s levels. To the end of March, there were 77 foundations poured compared to 284 in 2008, a decline of nearly 73 per cent. Single starts have shown year-over-year declines in activity since June 2008.

In terms of total supply, there were more than 800 single-detached units both under construction and completed and unoccupied at the end of the first quarter. Supply has been in decline, on a year-over-year basis, since December 2008 and on a month-over-month basis since June of last year. The bulk of single units in supply are those in various stages of construction. After peaking at close to 1,300 units in June 2008, the number of single units under construction has seen monthly declines. The combined effects of slower starts and increased absorptions have reduced the total supply on a month-over-month basis over the last nine months.

The number of single units that are completed and unoccupied now lies at close to 200 units, up from only 14 one year earlier. The number of completed and unoccupied single units is at a record high and builders will be restraining production until the excess inventories are absorbed.

Monthly single absorptions were achieving year-over-year gains starting in November 2008 but March 2009 brought slower absorptions compared to a very strong March 2008. Year-to-date, single absorptions now stand even with the first quarter of 2008.

At the present trended absorption rate of 110 to 115 units monthly, the supply of ownership (mainly single-detached) units at various stages of construction as well as those that are complete and unoccupied is sufficient to last seven to eight months. This is down from the 2008 first quarter figure of 11 to 12 months.

Starts in bedroom communities slower in 2009

Single starts in Saskatoon’s bedroom communities fell 62 per cent in the first quarter compared to the previous year. So far this year, these communities have captured 33.8 per cent of total single starts. At this time in 2008, 24.3 per cent of starts were outside the city limits. Over the last five years, bedroom communities have seen an average of 38 per cent of single starts fall within their boundaries. The share of units within the city has fluctuated over the last few years due to the availability and price of developed land within the city limits versus the bedroom communities.

Average price to decline in 2009 but return to growth in 2010

We forecast the average price of a new single-detached home will be $352,000 in 2009, a four per cent decline from the 2008 annual figure. The average new house price will ease due to the historically high number of units that are completed and unoccupied and competition from the resale market. Builders advise that in some new subdivisions, their newly completed homes are competing with homes sold to buyers in the previous year. As a result, builders will be offering incentives and price reductions in order to liquidate their excess inventory in 2009. Provided inventories sufficiently decline, the average price will then see an uptick of two per cent in 2010.