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renovating and decorating
the onslaught of renovating and decorating TV shows driving
homeowners to renovate, or are homeowners' insatiable
lifestyle aspirations fuelling the demand for the TV shows?
Either way, one continues to feed the other as the
renovation market continues to skyrocket.
Although not implicit in the
name, renovation is a key focus for the Greater Toronto Home
Builders' Association, through their renovators and custom
builders' council and three annual home shows. When not
focused on building new homes or condominiums, the
association helps to optimize the lifestyle of a homeowner,
which is where this weekend's Fall Home Show comes in.
But first, here are some
eye-popping statistics. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
notes that renovation spending has more than doubled since
1999 and is forecasting an 8.2 per cent increase this year
and a further 6.9 per cent increase next year, bringing
total renovation spending to a whopping $46.5 billion.
CMHC adds that "record levels
of existing home sales in recent years, the effects of a
strong job market, and robust housing starts continue to
support growth in renovation spending."
The resale/renovation
relationship is key as homeowners either fix up their
existing home to sell, or renovate the resale home they
purchased. Generally, households tend to renovate within the
first three years after the purchase of an existing home
And as CMHC reveals, housing
resales hit a record high 483,000 units nationally in 2005,
with the 2006 forecast running almost as high and 2007
expected to stay above 450,000 units for the fourth straight
year.
renovation
projects
Given the lag of up to three years for renovation projects,
contractors can expect to remain very busy right through the
end of the decade. This is where the homeowner comes in. If
you're contemplating a reno, don't expect to pick up the
phone today and have workers on-site tomorrow. In fact, if
the contractor you are talking to isn't very busy, think
twice, because the best contractors are booked far ahead.
The Greater Toronto Home
Builders' Association has launched the RenoMark program to
help homeowners tell apart professional renovation
contractors from all the other contractors out there. The
RenoMark renovators commit to the association's general code
of ethics as well as a renovation-specific code of conduct.
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