An economist with the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) says it’s been a bit of a slower year so far when it comes to housing starts in the Windsor area. The national six-month trend in housing starts was flat in July compared to June, according to CMHC. In the Windsor area, housing starts were up just five per cent in July compared to June. The CMHC is also monitoring what’s in the pipeline when it comes to home construction, tracking the number of approved units waiting to start, those under construction, and completed builds. The Windsor area recorded 261 approved units waiting to start in July, up 7.9 percent over June, while the number of under construction units decreased 6.6 per cent with 1,521 in July compared to 1,629 in June. 176 units were completed last month, up nearly 51 per cent compared to 116 in June. CMHC’s Lead Economist for southern Ontario Anthony Passarelli says Ontario’s HST rebate on new home sales and proposed changes to development charges could improve the new home construction picture. “The City of Windsor had submitted a pretty strong proposal to reduce them, and they’re waiting to hear back from the province on the decision,” he says. “If development charges get cut, you have an HST rebate holiday until next year; you’ll probably see those positive incentives translate to more new homes built.” In mid-June, city council voted to support, in principle, a recommendation for a 70 per cent reduction in development charges for three years across the city and in the Sandwich South area. The reduction would only move forward if Windsor were successful in its application for funding from the provincial and federal governments’ $8.8 billion Development Charge Reduction Program (DCRP), which aims to deliver funding for housing-enabling infrastructure projects. Passarelli says there are some signs that things should start to pick up in the short to medium term because of all these incentives out there in the market. He says there is also a wait-and-see approach by developers in the new home market, but there are signs next year will be positive. “Depending again on that development charge decision from the province. You also have to consider we have municipal elections that are happening later this year. We’re hearing developers are holding back bringing forward all of their applications because of all these potential changes that could be happening because of policy and housing,” he says. In March, Ontario announced a temporary, expanded HST new housing rebate that provides up to $130,000 in tax relief for eligible new homes purchased between April 1, 2026, and March 31, 2027.
