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Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said it had exceeded its National Housing Strategy targets in 2023 despite “significant economic challenges”.
The Crown corporation tasked with managing the country's national housing programs released its annual report on Monday, revealing its progress in meeting the NHS's targets – a 10-year plan launched in 2017. According to the report, CMHC delivered 153,708 new, repaired or supported affordable housing units, exceeding the NHS target of 120,000 units. The total number of new, repaired or serviced units delivered under CMHC programs in 2023 was 494,319, well above the agency's goal of 350,000 units.
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“Rising interest rates to curb inflation and labor shortages hampered the country’s ability to create much-needed housing,” said Michel Tremblay, acting president and chief executive officer of the agency. “But even in these challenging times, we have achieved our ambitious goals for 2023.”
CMHC attributes its success to several factors, including its Affordable Housing Fund, which provides low-interest loans to partner organizations, and the popularity of its multi-unit mortgage loan insurance product, MLI Select.
“Canada’s housing problems are serious, complex and urgent, but they are solvable,” Tremblay said.
He reiterated the agency's finding that Canada needs an additional 3.5 million homes beyond current projections to restore housing affordability.
The company's financial report showed a nine percent decline in total income before income taxes compared to 2022, primarily due to a $210 million decline in assisted living activities driven by higher net losses on financial instruments.
Despite this challenge, MLI Select supported the construction, refinancing or purchase of more than 220,000 units, 40 percent of which were new construction. This helped CMHC distribute $1.08 billion in dividends, funded by retained earnings and net income of $1.31 billion. Total insurance inventory reached $414 billion by the end of 2023, up $15 billion from the previous year.
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However, with higher interest rates and ongoing labor shortages, developers were unable to achieve the 270,000 new construction units recorded in 2021-22, instead reaching 241,735 units.
Looking ahead, CMHC said it would implement new initiatives, such as consulting with the housing industry to create a housing catalog to speed up construction.
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In December, federal housing minister Sean Fraser announced plans for such a catalog, part of an update to a post-war housing strategy that aimed to simplify the approval and construction processes. Fraser said the initiative would initially focus on low-rise buildings such as small multiplex cinemas, student halls of residence and senior residences.
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