The recovery in housing starts will continue over the next two years, but this remains insufficient to restore affordability, according to a recent report released Thursday.
Thus, the study by the Association of Construction and Housing Professionals of Quebec (APCHQ) anticipates slight increases in the residential construction sector with 9% in 2025 and 7% in 2026, or respectively 53,000 and 56,750 construction starts.
The organization attributes this increase to several factors, including the stabilization of construction and project financing costs, the decrease in mortgage rates and a growing demand for rental housing.
Throughout the year, all metropolitan regions should record more construction starts, but it is in Gatineau and Drummondville that the increases will be the most marked (+15%), according to APCHQ forecasts.
-“In 2023 and 2024, we have accumulated a significant delay in construction starts compared to the objective of building 1.2 million housing units by 2030, meaning that we would now have to quadruple them,” noted David Goulet, director of the Economic Service of the APCHQ.
“Our projections for 2025 and 2026 indicate that the gap will continue to widen over the next two years and the current political uncertainty could further darken this picture,” observed Mr. Goulet.
