Builders and Land Developers facing challenges right now
September 19, 2008 by Deyanira Bautista
Filed under Headline News
With financial markets roiling, oil and gas prices gyrating and the extent of the fallout in the Canadian real estate market uncertain, many current and aspiring homeowners seem content to stand still and wait out the turmoil.
Home builders don’t have that option.
“This whole industry is a big ship and it doesn’t turn on a dime,” says Niall Haggart, vice-president at Daniels Corp.
Builders and land developers face a battalion of challenges right now: Spillover from the collapse of the U.S. housing market is starting to drag down real estate sales and prices in Canada but no one can predict how long or steep the slide will be.
In Ontario, the government’s official plan to curb urban sprawl is making land available for building scarce and therefore more expensive, developers complain.
At the same time, higher materials costs for builders are also pushing up the cost of even a modest townhouse in the suburbs out of the reach of first-time buyers.
Meanwhile, immigration brings potential new buyers into the housing market just as the looming retirement dates of baby boomers could lead to a wave of downsizing.
Builders buy land several years before they ever have a house or condominium unit ready for a buyer. Many are trying to adjust to the shifting landscape and predict where the market will be a few years out.
Hello there:
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Hi Clarence,
Thanks for the note. But you forgot to leave your contact info.
How are Montreal property builders doing compared to Ontario and Canada as a whole?
Hello Montreal!
I’m a Realtor in Edmonton, and we too are facing similar challenges. Because our economy is so focused on the oil-patch, the ups-and-downs of the oil and gas prices are really wreaking havoc on our real estate industry.
Up-DOWN-UP-down.
That’s our problem.
While I wish you the best in your recovery, it is good for me to see that we’re not the only ones getting hurt by the world economy.
Best of luck!
John Carle
http://www.knock-knock.ca