Steve Payne
Renovation industry growing twice as fast new homes industry, Scotiabank says
Canadian Contractor Business canada Marketit's a fascinating report, detailing $47-billion in Canadian renovation spending annually. There's lots of work out there.
Scotiabank’s recent report on Canadian homebuilding and renovation contains the usual “waffle” talk from economists.
But in general (how’s that for my own waffle word?) the report says that the housing market (real estate, homebuilding, renovations) will slow because of rising mortgage rates and high home prices.
However, the report contains some intriguing statistics. For example, did you know that between 2010 and 2012, the renovation industry grew TWICE as fast as the new homes industry? And that renovations are now a $47-billion market in Canada?
I’m in a cynical mood today (that makes a change). No wonder governments keep wanting to introduce more regulations, inspections, taxes, paperwork, bureaucracy and rules into the renovation sector. Governments, broke as always, need some more of that $47-billion to flow their way.
Read a less cynical version of the Scotiabank Economics report on the housing industry in the Toronto Star‘s excellent summary here.
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Hi Steve,
As a General Contractor, we’ve been experiencing the same thing out west. Good report.
Regarding your cynical mood, you are only thinking and writing from a centralist imperial point of view. Your 2nd last paragraph is all, and only, about what Ontario knows and experiences. Quebec has the same issues but they don’t care because they can always just bring in more cash from the rest of us due to their ‘unique status’.
My point is that only Ontario is, in fact, subject to the bureaucracy that you speak of. The rest of us think that this situation is just fine. When is the Ontarion idea that the sun circles around them going to become apparent to you all? Every other province has been supporting you for years now, especially Alberta.
How about specifically stating that your comments are based upon your particular provincial circumstance and don’t assume that you speak for the entire nation. Your magazine is, in fact, ‘Canadian Contractor’.
My primary concern any time I read about centralist bureaucratic money grabbing techniques is that some of it may rub off on the rest of us. If you believe in this country and what’s best for all of us I suggest that you start looking outside of yourselves, look at what’s working for the rest of us. Make a few paradigm shifts. Considering what you all live with daily it can’t hurt to try.