"We're at about 13,500 right now. We think we're within a year of surpassing Thompson as the third-largest city in the province (behind Winnipeg and Brandon). We are already the third-largest in assessment numbers and net value of our properties," he said.
Housing
Much of the population jump is due to an influx of people from Europe and the Philippines. In fact, Goertzen said Steinbach is now the second-biggest Filipino community in Manitoba after Winnipeg.
Of course, with more people comes a rock-solid housing market. Unger, who is also a realtor with Prudential Riverbend Realty, said house prices are expected to appreciate in the high single-digits this year, just like they did in 2010.
"Houses aren't sitting around as much as they used to. They're selling, for the most part, in 30 days. Last year it was about 40 to 45 days," he said.
This year is also shaping up to be the city's best 12-month period ever for building permits and housing starts, with about 250 houses expected to rise from the ground.
There are currently two main price levels of properties in Steinbach. The first, which primarily incorporates houses built in the 1970s, is in the $225,000 range. That will get you a 1,000-square-foot three-bedroom bungalow. But homes built in the last five years tend to fetch about $265,000 for about 1,300 square feet of space with three bedrooms, a two-car garage and a finished basement.
Loewen
All is not lost at Loewen, either. There's no doubt the company is still in the doldrums as about 30 employees on its production side went on a two-month temporary layoff in May and 12 more management and support staff were given pink slips shortly afterwards. (Its workforce today is less than half of the more than 1,600 people it had on the payroll at its peak in the last decade.)
The housing downturn in the U.S. was a major contributor to Loewen's decision to lay off about 170 of its staff three years ago and while most U.S. markets haven't recovered by any means, Jon Sawatzky, Loewen's director of marketing, said they do appear to be stabilizing. "Housing starts have been very inconsistent but we still see great potential and are [making] strong efforts to remain an industry leader," he said.
from Western Investor August 2011
