Canada’s housing market is not only facing the challenges of rising prices and supply shortages, but there is also a “growing mismatch” between the housing types being built and those preferred by many Canadians, according to a new report.
The report, published by the Fraser Institute on April 13, found that real estate markets Canada-wide experienced significant price increases since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with home prices being 28 percent higher in February 2023 than in March 2020.
However, the price increases over this period were not equal across housing types, with prices for “ground-oriented” single-family homes and townhouses increasing by 31 percent over the same period, compared with a 17 percent increase for apartments. While the divergence in price appreciation by housing type became more pronounced during the pandemic, it was already present in the pre-pandemic period, the report said….