Is Toronto’s condo construction due for a downturn?

According to some experts, the current condo building boom is not sustainable and is due a downturn within the next two years. The present Canadian income to debt ratio is running at its highest ever, 167 per cent, according to Philip Petursson, managing director of the portfolio advisory group at Manulife Asset Management. According to Petursson, Toronto has around 159 condos presently under construction, which makes the city one of the biggest condo construction sites in the world. This may not be a good thing. “It’s been overbuilding the last five to six years,” Petursson says. He sees a glut coming in the next two years. If this comes to pass, what will this do to construction contractors and workers in GTA area?

It’s reckoned 1 in 16 Canadians now works in the construction industry. Canada’s construction industry has absorbed many of the job losses occurring in the manufacturing industry in recent years. But how long can this continue if the new condo market busts? Will all that labour power now working on highrise condos flood into the home renovation market and further drive the underground market, pushing legitimate contractors to the edge?

Recently I wrote an article on a controversial topic, and it got a lot of response:  Are “illegal” immigrants squeezing the home renovation market and home building industry in the GTA area?

Is that squeeze about to get bigger within the next two years? How do you feel about this? How can you position yourself now to avert this possibility?

One possible way is, if you’re not marketing your business online yet or simply flirting with it, maybe its time to get fully immersed with online companies like HomeStars, EIEI Home, HandyCanadian and others.

According to one of our CARAHS members in the Greater Toronto Area, John Oborne of Oborne Contracting, his business has “soared” in the last five years, helped considerably by HomeStars.com, where John boasts a stellar 9.8 rating. I say, not bad for a company that started from zero many years back. Read what John has to say about online reviews in the full article, here: Are you being targeted online?

 CARAHS is a non profit organization for self employed home renovators and home services.

EDUCATION – TRAINING – BENEFITS

Toll free 1-866-366-2930

www.carahs.org