After record highs, housing starts down slightly in 2025
Posted Sep 20, 2025 04:12:23 PM.
Last Updated Sep 23, 2025 12:21:44 PM.
Coming off record-high construction in 2023 and 2024, Halifax is experiencing a slight decrease in its housing starts.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) says geopolitical and economic uncertainty resulted in fewer starts for single-detached housing in the first half of 2025 when compared to the same time period last year.
Despite the small decline, starts in Atlantic Canada are expected to remain high in 2025 and 2026.
Rental demand remains high, which has led to steady momentum in the construction of apartments.
Over 10,000 units were under construction in June 2025, a record high for the municipality and significantly above the 10-year average.
“Rapid population growth and the eroded affordability of homeownership continue to support rental demand and new rental construction in Halifax,” the CMHC says.
That’s not to say rental starts are without obstacles. The housing corporations says developers have highlighted the lengthy time process for approvals.
Capacity constraints are also limiting new housing supply. Halifax’s construction boom means skilled trade labour shortages limit how much housing can be supplied. Since 2015, both housing starts and completions have grown by a compound annual rate of nearly seven per cent, but the necessary workforce has not kept up.
