10/08/2024
Details:
📈 Housing Starts on the Rise but Supply Gap Persists! 🏠 Despite a 4% increase in new builds, the supply is still not meeting demand in Canada’s top cities. Learn more about what's driving the market trends! 💼💡
Key Highlights:
4% Growth in Housing Starts: New home construction in Canada’s six largest cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, and Ottawa) increased by 4% year-over-year in the first half of 2024, reaching 68,639 units. This is the second strongest figure since 1990.
Supply Still Insufficient: Despite this growth, housing starts remain insufficient to meet the growing demand, failing to significantly reduce the existing supply gap and improve affordability.
Regional Disparities:Significant Gains: Calgary, Edmonton, and Montreal experienced notable increases in construction.
Declines: Toronto, Vancouver, and Ottawa saw declines ranging from 10% to 20% compared to the previous year.
Challenges in Major Markets: Toronto and Vancouver, the country’s two largest markets, continue to face issues such as high costs, regulatory delays, and high interest rates, which have slowed condominium construction and sales.
Increased Rental Construction: Almost half of the new apartment starts in the first half of 2024 were purpose-built rentals, providing a positive outlook for renters.
Future Projections: Continued policy and zoning changes at the provincial and municipal levels aim to increase housing density and supply.
Falling borrowing costs are expected to encourage more construction through mid-2025.
