Ottawa: A new report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reveals that house prices in Canada have risen significantly faster than in other developed nations. Since 2005, housing prices in the country have more than doubled.
CMHC Deputy Chief Economist Aled ab Iorwerth stated that the main cause of this crisis is the failure of housing construction to keep pace with demand. Record-breaking population growth combined with a slow pace of home construction led to the price surge. In 2023 and 2024, the population grew at a rate of five new residents for every newly completed home.
Although low interest rates, increased incomes, and demographic shifts boosted demand, the country was unable to strengthen its housing supply. Starting in Vancouver during the early 2000s, this shortage of housing availability and price increase later spread to other major cities, including Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Halifax.
Following the 2008–09 global financial crisis, housing prices dropped sharply in other developed countries, but in Canada, after a brief slight decline, prices continued to rise steadily. Over the past two decades, compared to countries like Australia, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden—which also experienced rapid population growth—Canada recorded the highest real estate price inflation.
