In an economic report released Wednesday, Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office noted that the province's housing starts in the first quarter of 2025 were the lowest for any quarter in the last 15 years.
“Housing starts in 2025 Q1 totalled 12,700 units in Ontario, a 20.2 per cent drop from the 15,900 units started in 2024 Q4,” the FAO wrote. “This marked the lowest level of housing starts since 2009 Q4.”
Last quarter, 80 per cent of the starts were in multiple-unit dwellings, and the remainder were single-detached homes.
“Home building has been negatively affected by high construction costs and weak sales as households continue to face housing affordability challenges,” the report said.
Home resale prices in Ontario were also down, averaging $834,900 in Q1, “a 6.7 per cent decrease from the previous quarter and the lowest since 2021,” the FAO said.
The report wasn’t all bad news.
“In the fourth quarter of 2024, Ontario’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic activity, increased by a solid 0.6 per cent from the previous quarter, led by gains in household spending, international exports and residential investment, partially offset by a reduction in inventories,” it said.
“The latest economic indicators suggest mostly positive results for Ontario’s economy in the first quarter of 2025, with gains in employment, retail and wholesale trade, manufacturing sales, and exports.”
