MHBA 85th Anniversary

4 Manitoba Home Builders' Association Celebrates 85 Years SUMMER 1937 The Winnipeg House Builders' Association was born. Frank Lount was elected president, and Walter Bergman became secretary treasurer. There were 10 members on the first board of directors. 1943 438 homes were built in Winnipeg in 1943. SEPTEMBER 1937 The City of Winnipeg Housing Company contracted with Henry Borger & Son to build a display home at 804 Ashburn St. More than 20,000 toured the house. The selling price of the house was $3,820, with monthly payments of $32.70 for 20 years. 1940s Wildwood Park was developed by Bird Construction. This was the first planned community. The one-,1.5- and two-storey homes sold for between $8,000 and $10,000 with down payments of between $1,000 and $2,000. M any of us weren't around in 1937 but plenty was going on that year. Eighty-five years ago this year, the U.S. Steel Company raised workers' wages to a princely $5 a day and in Chicago the first blood bank was created. The League of Nations banned foreign volunteers from entering the Spanish Civil War and it was revealed that Quaker Oats was paying Babe Ruth $25,000 a year for his advertising services. Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel Gone with The Wind, Neville Chamberlain became British prime minister, and the Duke of Windsor, formerly Edward VIII, married divorcee Wallis Simpson in France. Closer to home in Winnipeg, half a dozen local builders and developers got together in a construction shack on Renfrew Street to discuss common problems, such as the cost and shortage of building materials, the problems in finding reliable labour and the challenges of building homes. Lanny McInnes, president and CEO of the association, says the meeting on Renfrew was followed by a larger meeting in the fall at the Fort Garry Hotel and the association was formally established. "They knew there was a need for builders to work together on many issues and Manitoba was ahead of the pack in forming an association," he says. "At that time, only Toronto and Vancouver had similar meetings and organizations." McInnes says the group was known as the Housing and Urban Development Association of Manitoba and it has gone through several name changes since. In 2002 it merged with the Manitoba Renovators Association and now includes renovators, suppliers and builders in its membership. It took its current name in 1996. Being accepted as a member involves meeting stringent criteria and standards and considerable due diligence by other professionals in the industry. A company displaying the MHBA logo has an advantage over competitors because the public can trust it to work to a high standard. Applicants for membership are not just rated on their work and its quality but on their financial standing and stability as well. "Back in 1937, the city issued just 27 permits for new homes and the average price of a new home was $3,820," he says. "There have been many changes over the past 85 years. As Winnipeg and Manitoba have grown, so has our association. We are proud to represent residential construction across the whole of the province." Manitoba's homebuilding industry has always been subject to peaks and troughs in the building cycle, with much depending on what's happening in the wider provincial economy. The market remains buoyant right now even with recent increases to mortgage rates from what had been historic lows. "Industry veterans will tell you the up-and-down cycle we experience in Manitoba repeats about every 10 years because we have a balanced economy and don't suffer boom and bust like some other Canadian cities experience," he says. "As a result, we see steadier growth. Our industry also tends to only build what they know they can sell, so we're more cautious than other markets in that way. Most homes are sold before a builder has completed them." That doesn't mean Manitoba is immune to wider economic shocks, and McInnes 1965 groundbreaking ceremony for Southdale UPDATED FROM THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE WRITTEN BY PETER CARLYLE-GORDGE MANITOBA HOME BUILDERS' ASSOCIATION 85 years strong and still growing

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