Housing supply across Canada’s largest cities saw just a 1% growth in the first six months of 2023, compared to the first half of 2022. This according to the latest edition of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) Housing Supply Report (HSR), which examines new housing construction trends in Canada’s six largest Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs).
Tighter borrowing conditions, elevated construction and labour costs, and high interest rates created challenging conditions for homebuilders across all six major markets. Additionally, construction timelines saw a slight increase from the first half of 2022, up 0.9 months, said the CMHC.
“Toronto and Vancouver accounted for nearly two-thirds of the housing starts across the 6 markets, with apartment starts making up nearly three-quarters of all housing construction. The strong apartment growth observed in Toronto and Vancouver was offset by declines in Canada’s other largest centres,” it said.
Housing starts by dwelling type, first half of 2023, and percentage change from same | ||||||||||
Single-detached | Semi-detached | Row | Apartment | Total | ||||||
Units | %change | Units | %change | Units | %change | Units | %change | Units | %change | |
Vancouver | 1,511 | -4 % | 560 | 1 % | 1,062 | -0 % | 14,325 | 68 % | 17,458 | 49 % |
Calgary | 2,513 | -13 % | 806 | 5 % | 1,281 | 37 % | 3,506 | -1 % | 8,106 | -0 % |
Edmonton | 2,077 | -34 % | 380 | -19 % | 985 | 4 % | 1,630 | -38 % | 5,072 | -29 % |
Toronto | 2,271 | -21 % | 116 | -66 % | 2,181 | -25 % | 21,200 | 58 % | 25,768 | 32 % |
Ottawa | 663 | -45 % | 72 | -45 % | 675 | -45 % | 2,164 | 38 % | 3,574 | -18 % |
Montréal | 488 | -54 % | 96 | -72 % | 139 | -76 % | 5,204 | -57 % | 5,927 | -58 % |
Total | 9,523 | -25 % | 2,030 | -22 % | 6,323 | -17 % | 48,029 | 15 % | 65,905 | 1 % |
Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Podcast. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 as one of the Top 10 Business Journalists in the World by PR News – the only Canadian to make the list)
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