Quebec building booms this year, drops in 2022

December 20, 2021



Quebec homebuilders say the province will hit the highest housing starts in more than three decades this year, but they expect a sharp, negative correction in 2022.
Housing starts across the province are set to reach 68,300 this year, a 26 per cent leap from 2020, the Association des professionnels de la construction et de l’habitation du Québec (APCHQ) said December 8.
This would be the industry’s best performance since 1987, and the third-highest total on record.
With Quebec’s new-home prices having climbed 20 per cent on average in the past year, residential construction is expected to slow over the next 12 months. The APCQQ expects the price hikes to cool home buying, especially first-time buyers. However, continued rapid price hikes could also attract more investors into the housing market.
Quebec housing starts are forecast to drop about 18 per cent to 56,000 in 2022, their first decline in seven years, APCHQ predicts. Fifteen of Quebec’s 17 administrative regions are expected to post declines.
In Greater Montreal housing starts are expected to reach 33,500 this year, the highest level in at least 30 years, according to APCHQ data. Next year’s tally should come in around 27,000 units, a 19 per cent decrease, APCHQ said.
The projected construction slowdown means Quebec’s housing deficit will probably endure for several more years. Some 40,000 to 60,000 housing units were missing at the end of 2020 to restore balance to the province’s residential property market, the APCHG stated in a recent report.