Kitchener—Waterloo—Cambridge CMA

Key Points

• Housing starts in Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge CMA have declined significantly compared to the same point in previous years.

• In the CMA, for municipalities with provincial housing supply targets, overall grades, relative to performance over the same period (2021-2024) are:

  • Kitchener: D;
  • Waterloo: F; and
  • Cambridge: F.

• The decline in new home construction is starting to be felt in the labour market. The decline in housing starts, compared to the previous four-year average at this point in the year, is estimated to have reduced the number of jobs in Kitchener by 653 and by 640 in Waterloo. In Cambridge, on the other hand, a much smaller change in housing starts has had minimal impacts on jobs (loss of 361 jobs).

Housing starts

Figure 1: Year-to-date housing starts by dwelling type, Kitchener—Waterloo—Cambridge CMA

New home sales

Figure 2: Year-to-date new home sales by dwelling type, Kitchener—Waterloo—Cambridge CMA