Introduction to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation – a great source of housing information that you can’t miss!

I found CMHC accidently when searching Canada statistics related to demographic and socio-economic influences on housing demand. It is crucial to have the fundamental knowledge around these factors. Eventually, the household growth is the largest component of housing demand as well as the economic activities. Getting the big picture will lead you to the right direction when considering buying/investing the property in the long run.

The great thing about CMHC is that they offer a wide range of housing-related reports. They make it very easy to access, read, and it’s free!

However, you might get lost at the beginning since there is too much information available up there. I would recommend checking out the annual Canadian Housing Observer first. It is their flagship publication which provides an in-depth review of housing conditions and trends in Canada and describes the key factors that influence these developments.

Key topics include:
•    Affordable Housing
•    Demographic and Socio-economic Influences on Housing Demand
•    Current Market Developments
•    Housing Finance
•    Sustainable, Healthy Communities and Water
•    Recent Trends in Affordability and Core Housing Need
•    Housing Research

You can also find the dedicated sections to “Homebuying Step by Step” and “The Newcomer's Guide to Canadian Housing” What a great resource!

Below just a quick abstract from Canadian Housing Observer 7th edition by CMNC
 Demographic and Socio-economic Influences on Housing Demand
•    Projections of household growth, spanning the period of 2007 to 2036, were developed. While not forecasts, they provide a variety of scenarios at the national level which illustrate the impacts of alternative assumptions of how different extrapolations of past trends of key factors could affect future population and household growth.
•    Household growth, the largest component of the demand for housing, has played a key role in the expansion of Canada’s residential construction sector over the past three decades.
•    Since the size and age composition of the population are the main factors contributing to household growth, the aging of Canada’s population over the next three decades will have important implications for home builders, mortgage lenders, government policy makers and other housing market participants.
•    Immigration has been a key factor influencing population growth in Canada and will become increasingly important in the coming decades as the age-structure of the population shifts more decisively in favour of older Canadians.