Toronto started just 156 condo units in first half of 2026: CMHC

TORONTO — Developers broke ground on only 156 condominium units in the City of Toronto in the first half of 2026, versus a decade average of roughly 7,000 units a year, according to CMHC’s Fall 2026 Housing Supply Report.

Population-adjusted starts were the weakest since 1996 aside from 2025. The backlog of permitted units waiting to break ground has fallen 50% from its 2023 peak, condo launches have largely stalled, and ground-oriented freehold starts sit at record lows after more than two decades of decline. Purpose-built rental apartment starts jumped 82% year over year and overtook condo apartment starts for the first time since 1994 — part of a national shift where rentals now make up about two-thirds of apartment starts in key markets.

CMHC says Toronto still needs to lift annual housing starts by at least 50% — an extra 21,000 to 26,000 homes a year — to restore 2019-level affordability. Nationally, Canada must build 417,000 to 469,000 homes a year to close a shortfall of 187,000 to 238,000 units annually by 2036, little changed from 2025. Deputy chief economist Aled ab Iorwerth warned: “The key risk now is Canada underbuilds during this softer market and finds itself further short of housing when demand strengthens again.”

For buyers, a rental-heavy pipeline eases some rent pressure short term while starving the ownership stock that underwrites household wealth — setting up a sharper scarcity premium once rates, jobs and migration pull demand back.