Re-Assessing the Housing Problem
The CEO Perspective, by Michael Brooks
January 21, 2026
I spent much of my downtime over the holidays catching up on the myriad reports released by various government, not-for-profit, and for-profit entities that describe Canada’s housing challenges. The language that we used a year ago – particularly the idea of a broad “supply crisis” – seems less apt today.
Inventory Trends in the GTA & Major Markets
It may well be that we will have a housing supply crisis three or four years from now, but the immediate issue in several major markets is different: a large inventory of unsold condos in a few major cities, somewhere between 20,000 and 25,000 units. Many low-rise sales offices are closed or are open by appointment only in the GTA. Buyers appear to be waiting, either because affordability remains strained or because they expect a further price drop. Even resale homes are slow to move in the GTA. Perhaps for the same reasons: people think a house for sale today might be cheaper six months from now.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the industry can wait to hit equilibrium. If projects continue to be cancelled or deferred in large numbers, the near-term slowdown can quickly become a medium-term shortage, which is exactly the cycle we’ve seen before. We therefore need government assistance to stimulate sales, and/or we need governments to remove some of the cost barriers to allow sales to proceed at reduced cost.
Can Technology Help?
REALPAC is advancing work on the development charges problem, including multi-association collaborations at the provincial level. We also need to apply the same urgency to solve slow approval processes almost everywhere in this country. We need a technology solution. What would Google AI do? The official planning function, and matching zoning that would allow as-of-right building, seems broken in many cities.
The Purpose-Built Rental Market
At the same time, market purpose-built rental construction is booming into a market – at least in three major cities – where there are material amounts of vacancy. In Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver, it is not uncommon for new tenants to receive several months’ free rent.
In the near term, we have less of a supply crisis, except at the deeply affordable end. We have a demand crisis at the market end. Over the medium term, given the lack of new construction and sales, we may again face a supply crisis at all levels, particularly if immigration resumes.
If we act now, we can steady today’s market and avoid creating a bigger housing shortfall in the years ahead.
About the Author:
Michael is the Chief Executive Officer at REALPAC, with overall responsibility for the success of the organization and the industry, including events, government relations, research, standards and best practice, and education. Michael was formerly a commercial real estate lawyer and partner, and the real estate practice group leader, at a major Canadian law firm.