Housing starts held back by regulatory conditions, structural factors: CMHC

People work on new residential construction in the Riverside South neighbourhood of Ottawa on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle

OTTAWA — A new report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says regulatory conditions, along with economic and demographic structural factors, have slowed the pace of housing starts and pushed home prices higher.

In a report that looked at the housing market from 2006 to 2024, the agency estimated that annual housing starts could have been nearly 30 per cent higher in 2024 if the Canadian housing industry had been as responsive as the U.S. industry.

It also says the national MLS average prices would have been about eight per cent lower in 2024.

CMHC says Canada has tighter rules when it comes to land use compared with those in the U.S. which makes it more difficult to add new housing supply quickly.

It also says other structural factors beyond our control have played a role in the poorer performance compared with the U.S.

It says some of our largest cities face geographical constraints, while fewer big urban centres in Canada than the U.S. makes many households captive to a handful of cities, slowing the construction industry’s response to changes in housing demand.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2026.