As housing forecast suggests issues with Canada’s supply, we want to hear from buyers and sellers

A real estate sign shows a home for sale in Montreal on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)

A new report that examines Canada’s housing supply shows a collapsing condo presale market, and suggests that what is available to buyers across the country, may not meet their actual needs.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), which released its Spring Housing Supply report Wednesday, found that lower demand from buyers, along with stricter financial parameters for builders, is influencing project timelines. That’s resulting in delays and cancellations for builders, who in turn are pivoting their projects into rentals, which is positive news for renters but could lead to fewer choices for future homeowners.

Tania Bourassa-Ochoa, deputy chief economist for the CMHC, said in a news release Wednesday that while last year’s housing and rentals starts and rental completions were stronger than the year before, new supply has “contributed to the easing of rental market conditions in many of Canada’s major centres.”

“Homeownership supply, particularly in the condominium segment, continues to face significant challenges in the face of falling presales,” she said. “This threatens both the availability and affordability of ownership options for Canadians in the medium-term. Since construction timelines can span years, a slowdown in starts today sets the stage for future supply constraints.”

How things are looking across Canada

When it comes to individual cities across the country, the situation varies:

Toronto: Rental starts outpaced condo starts for the first time since 2000, CMHC said, with housing starts falling significantly compared to recent years. CMHC predicts these conditions could mean a “sharper supply gap and a tighter market in the long term.”

Vancouver: A lower demand from the city’s slowing population growth coincided with record completions, according to CMHC. However, “land scarcity and high costs” had a cooling effect on rental construction.

Montreal: CMHC said rental construction hit record highs last year, making up more than 80 per cent of 2025 housing starts. The same could not be said for condo starts, which fell to a record low. CMHC predicts the current “abundance of supply” in the face of weaker demand could put “further pressure on affordability.”

Calgary: While “new home construction in Calgary reached another record high in 2025, surpassing Toronto and Vancouver in actual housing starts,” the pressure from labour and building capacity became more dogged, which could reflect on future supply, CMHC said.

Edmonton: A few factors led to record highs in Edmonton’s housing like government incentives, rezoning, and relative affordability, which led to strong growth in both rental and ownership starts, including condominium starts, CMHC said.

Ottawa: In Ottawa, the corporation said, much of recent construction has been rental units. As these projects were determined by trends years ago, CMHC predicts a tightening housing supply over time, which could impact buyer options in the future.

Halifax: The housing market conditions were more balanced in Halifax in 2025, thanks to “strong completions, higher resale listening (and) softer demand,” CMHC said. It anticipates more project delays and deferrals, linked to a lack in skilled labour, which could impact supply in the future.

We want to hear from you

In light of the recent data from CMHC, CTVNews.ca wants to connect with those entering the housing market, either to rent or own.

Are you having a hard time buying or selling? What has your experience been so far?

If you purchased a new build, has your move-in date been delayed?

If you’re currently shopping for a new home, are you finding options on the market that meet your needs?

If you’re looking to sell, how has the experience been for you?

Have you found this to be true? Are you starting to consider your options and worried about the future, or feeling good about preparing to enter the market?

If you’re looking to rent, what has the experience been like? Are there more options available or is it harder to find affordable rental housing?

Share your story by emailing us at [e-mail] with your name, general location and phone number in case we want to follow up. Your comments may be used in a CTVNews.ca story.