{"id":441569,"date":"2026-01-29T20:46:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T20:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/441569\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T20:46:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T20:46:11","slug":"how-canadian-developers-are-building-for-2026-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/441569\/","title":{"rendered":"How Canadian Developers Are Building For 2026 (And Beyond)"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s no secret that Canada\u2019s homebuilding sector has weathered a few tough years. The country\u2019s new condo sales in places like the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area (GTHA) have hit lows<\/a> we haven\u2019t seen in decades. The root causes \u2013 things like reduced immigration, high construction costs, elevated interest rates, and the collapse of investor demand \u2013 have created a perfect storm of volatility. An increasingly uncertain geopolitical climate (to say the least) doesn\u2019t help. <\/p>\n

So, it\u2019s become common for Canadian developers to drop like dominoes, putting projects on hold or cancelling them<\/a> altogether. Some, however, have strategically shifted focus to adjust for the changing times. This could mean moves like a pivot to purpose-built rentals, recapitalizing assets, increased cost consciousness, leveraging government incentives, and a reliance on vertical integration.<\/p>\n

The common denominator? These developers aren\u2019t sitting on the sidelines. <\/p>\n

From Quick Flips to Forever Yields<\/p>\n

Purpose-built rentals continue their moment in the spotlight, as more developers have shifted<\/a> from a reliance on condo pre-sales, to a focus on a more stable, recurring income in recent years. In 2025, Canada\u2019s purpose-built rental starts hit an all-time high<\/a>, according to Canada Mortgage<\/a> and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Notable Canadian developers like Dream Unlimited Corp, Bosa Properties, and even the commercial real estate-focused RioCan have set their sights on the rental market as of late. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur pipeline is now split almost evenly between purpose-built rental and condo, and we continue to take a long-term view for both,\u201d says Dan Cupa, SVP Residential at Vancouver\u2019s Bosa Properties<\/a>. He says the current market structure requires an innovative shift. <\/p>\n

\u201cWith rental now the dominant form of housing activity, competition is increasing, and that raises the bar,\u201d says Cupa. \u201cSuccess is measured by resident retention, operational performance, and the durability of the asset over time, which means designing rental communities with renters\u2019 needs squarely in mind and continuing to provide exceptional property service.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pre-sales still matter, however. \u201cFor us, it isn\u2019t a choice between pre-sales and rental yield,\u201d says Cupa. \u201cA healthy housing system needs both. Programs like BPI Equity<\/a> [Bosa Properties\u2019 rent-to-own program] reflect that reality by supporting renters who want a pathway into ownership, allowing us to build stronger relationships with our customers across different stages of their housing journey. Ultimately, success means delivering housing that works for how people live today and performs over the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n

While pre-sales are still important, the waning of the investor-driven condo market means a mass move away from the \u201cinvestor shoebox\u201d era that started around 2010. \u201cSuccess today means designing homes for end-users with a focus on livability and enduring value,\u201d says Cupa. <\/p>\n

The Daniels Corporation<\/a> is no stranger to purpose-built rentals, having built them in Toronto for over 30 years. While many developers may have been caught off guard by the conditions in 2024-2025, Daniels had the experience to shape how they plan capital in a way that supports housing through multiple market cycles, says Jake Cohen, President of the Daniels Corporation. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the current environment has reinforced the importance of that approach, our focus has long been on capital structures that prioritize resilience, diversification, and durability over short-term returns,\u201d says Cohen. \u201cToday, that means deepening our emphasis on purpose-built rental, including seniors\u2019, student, affordable, and accessible housing, alongside low-rise development opportunities that respond to real demand and support more predictable outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

This allows Daniels to remain active while underwriting<\/a> projects with longer horizons and greater financial durability, says Cohen. <\/p>\n

Selling Yesterday to Fund the Future<\/p>\n

While some developers may wait for conditions to improve or rates to drop, others are busy pruning their portfolios to finance the future. Some are selling off non-core assets in order to fund rental projects. <\/p>\n

With properties across the country, Dream Unlimited Corp.<\/a> has been an industry benchmark for recapitalization. In the past 18 months, the developer has sold off non-core assets, like Colorado\u2019s Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort, in order to crystallize a $110 million USD profit<\/a> to repay over $100 million in debt and bolster the liquidity needed to fund its massive recurring-income rental pipeline.<\/p>\n

In August, Dream Impact Trust published a general business update<\/a> on its liquidity, development, and strategic initiatives, revealing that it started the year with almost $350 million in land loans, and that it expects to reduce that total by $140 million. The developers claimed the loans have put a strain on their cash flow and liquidity. By the end of 2026, the Trust expects land loans to be reduced by over 60% compared to 2025 levels, primarily through strategic sales at Scarborough Junction and Quayside.<\/p>\n

Similarly, RioCan REIT is in the midst of a massive $1.3\u2013$1.4 billion capital recycling program. By offloading stakes in completed RioCan Living rental towers in Ottawa and Calgary to other REITs, the firm is generating the liquidity needed to deleverage its balance sheet while focusing on its core grocery-anchored residential pipeline.<\/p>\n

The Public-Private Playbook<\/p>\n

While government red tape has been blamed in part for delays in getting new homes built, strategic public-private partnerships are now fuelling the creation of new homes. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing greater alignment from governments around the need to get housing built, particularly rental, even as the economics remain challenging,\u201d says Cupa. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t remove risk, but it does reinforce the importance of staying active rather than waiting on the sidelines.\u201d<\/p>\n

Government incentives like the removal of tax on new rental construction, CMHC\u2019s Apartment Construction Loan<\/a> Program, and the Housing Accelerator Fund<\/a> have helped the homebuilding cause for developers who take advantage of them. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe removal of taxes on purpose-built rentals has been hugely valuable,\u201d says Jamie Cooper, President, Development and Income Properties at Dream Unlimited. \u201cThe federal government also provides attractive financing tools when you include affordability and sustainability<\/a> in your buildings. When you commit to over 20% of the units being affordable, you get development charge waivers from the city. This helps to construct a large-scale project in downtown Toronto in a climate when few others are constructed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cooper points to Dream\u2019s new project at 49 Ontario Street<\/a> in downtown Toronto as a prime example. Built in partnership with CentreCourt Developments, it\u2019s a mixed income, purpose-built rental with a significant affordable housing portion. Earlier this year, Dream Impact Trust, the current owner of the redevelopment site, secured up to $647.6 million in government-affiliated financing and obtained waivers for development charges<\/a> from the City of Toronto for the 800,000 sq. ft project. The development will feature 1,226 multi-family units, with 22% designated as affordable housing.<\/p>\n

However, the industry shift isn’t about abandoning the private sector. Bryan Reid, President of Vancouver\u2019s Kindred Construction <\/a>notes that Kindred aims to stay “appropriately spread” across both sectors. \u201cWhile publicly funded work may have increased impact on being mission driven as far as non-market, social or affordable housing, the private side serves as critical of a function to continue to increase our housing stock across all levels of affordability, and own forms of tenancy and ownership,\u201d says Reid. <\/p>\n

Lean Design as a Financial Amenity<\/p>\n

Alan Nicholson, Principal and Founding Partner at construction management firm MAKE Projects, gives his clients a dose of tough love: \u201cYour project isn\u2019t stalled; it\u2019s overdesigned for today\u2019s economics,\u201d he says \u2013 plain and simple. \u201cWe tell them to either simplify the building and reset the proforma to something financeable, or stop spending money trying to resurrect a version of the project the market can\u2019t build anymore. This usually means a deep cut that the project team has been avoiding.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it\u2019s time to cut costs, it\u2019s out with the flashy, in with the practical. Nicholson says that British Columbia\u2019s construction development industry “grew fat” during the prosperous years and that 2026 is a necessary lean period. This means reconsidering the nice-to-haves.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor most of 20 years, proformas could absorb a lot: architectural gestures, complex systems, overly bespoke detailing, and also policy enhancements around sustainability and accessibility, and increasing code requirements,\u201d says Nicholson. \u201cThe fundamental underpinnings of rental rates, population growth, and amazingly consistent real estate value growth maintained the profitability of real estate investment. In 2024 and 2025, the fundamentals changed, and the ability to absorb disappeared.\u201d <\/p>\n

However, Nicholson highlights that policy doesn’t retract quickly, if ever, calling construction material and labour pricing \u201cnotoriously sticky.\u201d So, he advises clients to re-evaluate their design decisions; what used to be a necessary flashy extra may no longer be necessary (bye bye, theatre room). <\/p>\n

Being fiscally responsible also means environmental considerations to avoid future carbon tax and operating costs<\/a>. \u201cWe take a pragmatic approach to balancing carbon performance with financial discipline,\u201d Cohen says of Daniels. \u201cOur goal is to push low-carbon performance as far as possible while remaining responsible to our development partners and the long-term viability of each project.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says efficiency is key. \u201cBy focusing on building performance and reducing energy demand through better envelopes and smarter systems, we can remove inefficiencies elsewhere,\u201d he says. \u201cThat creates room in the budget to invest in sustainability measures where the benefits are realized over time through lower operating costs and reduced risk.\u201d <\/p>\n

Daniels recently completed the first phase of Brampton\u2019s MPV2 development, which utilizes geo-exchange and solar technology to lower long-term operating costs. <\/p>\n

Taking Control: In-House Infrastructure<\/p>\n

Vertical integration is often the best defence. In a climate of sky-high construction costs and labour shortages, it helps to have an in-house construction team. Those with an in-house construction arm aren’t optimizing for a single phase of a project, rather, optimizing for the full lifecycle of buildings across their portfolio. Cupa says that this type of vertical integration gives Bosa Properties clarity and control. <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause our construction team is part of the same organization, we\u2019re able to make decisions earlier, design more efficiently, and adjust quickly when conditions change,\u201d says Cupa. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re immune to cost pressures \u2013 no one is \u2013 but it does mean fewer surprises to project budgets or schedules. We can design with quality in mind, sequence work more strategically, and keep skilled trades consistently employed rather than cycling on and off projects. From a fiscal responsibility standpoint, that long-term lens matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

To further ensure execution certainty, Dream\u2019s partnership with CentreCourt on 49 Ontario brings in a partner specifically known for self-performing construction at unmatched speed. This insulates the project from the scheduling delays that have notoriously plagued the GTHA.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Daniels has recently brought strategic design and engineering oversight in-house and evolved its leadership structure to focus on construction as a service. Recently, it appointed its first Chief Construction Officer, Gokul Pisharoty. The expansion of their development management and construction management services will allow Daniels to build with and for others. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis enables us to apply our expertise in complex, mixed-income and low-carbon projects while generating stable, fee-based revenue and supporting partners across the public, institutional, and non-profit sectors,\u201d explains Cohen. \u201cTogether, these strategies reflect a disciplined approach to capital deployment; one that sustains housing supply<\/a>, and aligns long-term financial stability with community impact, regardless of market cycles.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Path Forward: Innovation Through Repetition<\/p>\n

Scaling building efficiencies for today’s climate requires efficient repetition. Reid points to the Vienna House project in East Vancouver, which relies on prefab \u201cclip-on\u201d technology and mass timber, as a proving ground for industrialized construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cInnovation within the construction space takes repetition,\u201d says Reid. “It will start slow, until it\u2019s very quick.\u201d He says that as these methods scale, the ability to do “more with less on-site labour” will eventually offset rising material costs.<\/p>\n

Strategically navigating 2026 ultimately comes down to collaboration and speed. As Reid puts it, builders must invest in their clients’ efforts early to find a path to viability. \u201cBeing efficient with schedules to avoid delays \u2013 as debt remains expensive and delays are very costly \u2013 is paramount,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Nicholson echoes the sentiment. \u201cWe always advocate for a tightly controlled project with good leadership, which will allow trimming of the budgets with tighter contingencies,\u201d he says. \u201cWe cannot overstate the importance of this for cost control.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s no secret that Canada\u2019s homebuilding sector has weathered a few tough years. The country\u2019s new condo sales…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":441570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[59,49,48,54,60,54573,44,43091,58],"class_list":["post-441569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-british-columbia-alberta","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-development-projects","tag-featured","tag-insiders","tag-news","tag-other-canada","tag-real-estate-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=441569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/441570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=441569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=441569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}