CMHC’s Fall 2024 Housing Supply Report focuses on Canada’s Metropolitan Areas
Adding to last week’s Around Town, the CMHC Fall 2024 Housing Supply Report reported multi-unit housing starts in Vancouver fell in the first half of 2024 as development, land, and financing costs negatively impacted project profitability.
Lower prices in the resale market made it more difficult for developers to compete for homebuyers. Likewise pre-construction apartments have become less appealing because of high interest rates, declining asking rents and softening resale markets.
Developers have been hesitant to lower prices for unsold units in existing projects, instead offering incentives like free parking, waived maintenance fees and upgrades. Industry experts have suggested developers may face longer pre-sales phases, extended development times and potential project cancellations. This would result in lower starts numbers in the future.
Weaker demand for new homes also limited new construction activity. Calgary and Edmonton led the growth in housing starts due to record interprovincial migration in recent years, driven by their lower cost for housing and favourable economic conditions.
Source: CMHC.
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