While Canada’s resale market is showing signs of life, the new home market continues to decline
“The really low HMI scores, which show both low builder sentiment and an expectation of continued slower starts in the months ahead, emphasize the need for ongoing holistic change to policy at all levels of government to address affordability and supply,” CHBA CEO Kevin Lee said.
Builder sentiment in the Prairies and Atlantic provinces, once cautiously optimistic, is now trending toward pessimism. In the Atlantic region, the only building category that remained positive was multi-family, though the sector accounts for less than five per cent of national starts.
“CHBA’s HMI relates only to new construction for ownership,” the report said. “While total housing start numbers, which include all types of construction such as rental properties, may be holding steady, the HMI focuses specifically on housing starts for homeownership… (for which) the report shows a 17 per cent decline through the first nine months of the year compared to 2023.
The CHBA urges a multi-pronged policy approach to tackle affordability and supply issues, with Lee stressing the need for comprehensive support: “While lower interest rates and other policy measures being implemented should eventually help increase sales activity, still more will be needed, including at the provincial and municipal level, to turn the market around and get on track to significantly increasing housing starts and supply in the future.”