Toronto, Vancouver weigh on housing starts in first half of year: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

04-Oct-2025

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Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says growth in overall housing starts was flat during the first half of the year compared with 2024, though there were significant regional differences.

The agency says cities like Calgary, Edmonton, Montréal, Ottawa and Halifax built homes at paces that were either at or near records or in line with historical averages in the first half of the year, led by the construction of rental apartments.

However, slowdowns in Canada’s two most expensive real estate markets weighed on the overall number of starts.

Vancouver saw a decline in housing starts during the first half of the year compared with 2024, while Toronto was on pace for the lowest total annual housing starts in 30 years.

“While the increase in rental construction in the first half of 2025 was encouraging, the ongoing construction slowdown in the home ownership market poses risks to future housing supply, workforce retention, and affordability,” Tania Bourassa-Ochoa, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s deputy chief economist, said in a press release.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says homebuilding activity in Toronto fell to its lowest point since 1996 on a per-capita basis, mainly due to a 60 per cent drop in condominium starts. The decline came amid weaker investor demand for condos during the first half of the year, leaving projects less feasible and more prone to cancellations or delays.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said builders want to see construction costs and development charges lowered to “ease condominium prices and improve project viability.”