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New home sales hit record lows in the Greater Toronto Area last year, threatening tens of thousands of industry jobs and the province\u2019s long-term housing supply targets, according to an industry report.<\/p>\n
There were just 240 new home sales across the GTA in December, about 1,100 fewer units than the previous 10-year average for the month, a new report from the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) found.<\/p>\n
The month capped off the worst year for new home sales in the GTA in 45 years of record-keeping, according to Altus Group, BILD\u2019s source for new home market intelligence. The roughly 5,300 new home sales recorded in 2025 is 81 per cent below the 10-year average of 28,286 sales for the region, the report found.<\/p>\n
New home sales recorded in December 2024 had previously set a record-breaking low for the month, the report said. But last month\u2019s sales marked a 24 per cent drop in comparison.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeanwhile, 2026 is likely to see geopolitical concerns linger, prices remain elevated and the Bank of Canada has indicated the cycle of interest rate cuts has ended \u2013 thus the main drivers of buyer hesitancy are expected to drag on well into the year,\u201d Altus Group research manager Edward Jegg said in a news release.<\/p>\n
Of the new homes sold in the GTA last year, the report found, 3,247 were single-family homes \u2014 63 per cent down from the 10-year average \u2014 and 2,067 were condos \u2014 down 89 per cent from the 10-year average.<\/p>\n
100,000 jobs at stake, says BILD COO<\/p>\n
BILD chief operating officer Justin Sherwood said low sales lead to fewer housing starts. Without a rebound, the report projects 100,000 construction jobs could be lost \u2014 half direct construction jobs, and half jobs for companies and services that support construction work.<\/p>\n
WATCH | Ont. builders warn of construction job losses as market slows:![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769377750_779_default.jpg\")
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How Ontario’s slowing housing market is affecting trades jobs<\/p>\n
Ontario\u2019s slowing home construction market is beginning to trigger job losses in the trades. As CBC’s Shawn Jeffords reports, the warning comes from a group representing builders in the province.<\/p>\n
Last year, the Ontario and federal governments proposed rebates<\/a> of their respective portions of the harmonized sales tax for first-time buyers of new homes up to $1 million. BILD would like it removed for everyone to spur sales, Sherwood said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat can’t happen soon enough, quite frankly, with the numbers that we’re seeing,\u201d Sherwood said. \u201cWhen you look at new home sales, the percentage of first-time buyers in the new home market sector\u2019s actually relatively small.\u201d<\/p>\n Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday that he\u2019s in favour of that.<\/p>\n \u201cThe market would boom. But we need buy-in from the federal government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Ontario Liberal housing critic Adil Shamji told reporters Thursday that he has no confidence in Ford to adequately increase the province\u2019s housing supply.<\/p>\n \u201cWhatever he comes out with will be another exercise in rehabbing his image and will be designed to make it look as though he’s doing something,\u201d Shamji said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe have seen the number of housing starts in this province plummet. Every year is worse than the last one.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ford government had promised to build 1.5 million homes by 2031. But as housing starts fell behind pace, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said in November<\/a> that number had become a \u201csoft\u201d target.<\/p>\n