Housing Market Outlook for 2016-2017 Sherbrooke CMA

MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - May 18, 2016) - According to the second quarter 2016 issue of the Housing Market Outlook - Sherbrooke report released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), housing starts in the Sherbrooke census metropolitan area (CMA) will total between 1,100 and 1,200 units this year and 1,125 to 1,275 units in 2017. Centris^® sales, for their part, will total between 1,725 and 1,825 this year before progressing to a level between 1,750 and 1,950 in 2017.

"With the resale market favouring buyers and the inventory of new units being relatively significant, housing starts are forecast to stabilize at a lower level in 2016 and 2017 as builders direct buyers to existing inventories of new homes." said Rosemarie Bégin, Market Analyst at CMHC.

On the resale market, Sherbrooke area Centris^® sales are expected to increase in 2016 and 2017. Net gains in employment, combined with the low mortgage rates, will attract more buyers to the market. "Despite the increase in sales, the Sherbrooke resale market is expected to continue to be favourable to buyers over the next two years due to the large supply of homes available. As a result, the soft conditions will continue to limit price growth," she added.

On the rental housing market, the apartment vacancy rate, although high by historical standards, will remain stable in both 2016 and 2017 (5.8 per cent) as both demand and supply evolve at a similar pace.

As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers objective housing research and information to Canadian governments, consumers and the housing industry.

For more information, visit our website at www.cmhc.ca or follow us on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Additional data is available upon request.

(Ce document existe également en français.)

To view the table associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1055322a_table.pdf