Investment in housing construction is declining across Canada, data shows

Investment in Canada’s housing construction sector is declining, data from Statistics Canada shows.

Canada’s real estate sector saw $22.6 billion invested in building construction in March, a drop of $304.6 million, or 1.3 per cent, compared with February.

However, the drop was sharper when compared with March 2025, with investment in residential real estate construction dropping 2.2 per cent, while the non-residential sector saw a modest 0.6 per cent increase, Statistics Canada said.

In the residential sector, investment in construction dropped to $15.5 billion in March, decreasing by $345.4 million. While multi-unit housing construction saw a 2.3 per cent decline, single-family homes were not untouched by the downturn, seeing investment decline by 2.1 per cent in March.

Investment in multi-unit construction was down $195.5 million to $8.4 billion in March, marking the third consecutive monthly decrease, Statistics Canada said, while investment in single-family home construction was down $149.9 million to $7.2 billion.

Ontario led the declines across the board in residential construction, with investment in multi-unit properties in the province dropping by $152.2 million, significantly higher than the province with the next highest drop — Alberta, with a $59-million decline.

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The province also led the decrease in single-family home construction, with investment declining by $119.5 million.

In its housing market outlook for 2026, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said new home construction in Canada will continue to decline until 2028, citing high costs for developers, weaker demand and more unsold homes.

In 2025, 259,000 homes began construction across Canada. That number is projected to fall to 247,000 this year, 223,000 in 2027 and 216,000 in 2028.

Condominium starts will be especially weak, CMHC said.

Canada’s condo market downturn has entered its fifth year, recent data from real estate research firm Urbanation shows.

In a typical year, based on the 10-year average, there would be 4,046 condos sold in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area (GTHA) in the first three months of the year. Between January and March of 2026, that number was 246, the report said.