The Toronto and Hamilton-area condo market continues to be pummelled by poor market conditions as cancellations hit a record-high, jeopardizing much-needed supply in the near future.
So far his year, 18 condo projects and 4,040 units have been cancelled — with 10 of those projects cancelled in the third quarter of 2025 alone, indicating the sustained strain on the market is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, according to real estate firm Urbanation’s Thursday report.
“The condo market has clearly become depressed as it undergoes a difficult correction following excessive growth that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation.
Since the start of 2024, a total of 32 projects and 6,981 units have been cancelled. An additional 20 projects are currently on hold for sales or in receivership, with a high likelihood of cancellation in the near-term, the report said.
Significant developments have been put on hold or will no longer continue as financing runs out and preconstruction buyers are unable to close on their units. The Star has developed a map to keep track of the impacted projects in Toronto.
The latest casualty comes from developers Mattamy Homes and QuadReal who “made the difficult decision” to begin the process of cancelling their massive redevelopment of Cloverdale mall after pre-selling below 10 per cent of available units.
The new condo market in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area is also on track to record its worst year for sales in 35 years.
Unsold units in completed projects increased 142 per cent from a year ago to a record-high of 2,944 units.
And developers are finding it tough to sell new condos, which are significantly more expensive than resale condos in newer buildings, the report added.
A resale condo averaged $867 per square foot, with a comparable new condo averaging $1,199.
The high costs of materials, labour, development charges (fees paid to the municipality) and high interest rates make it difficult for developers to lower their prices, the report said.
The slowdown in the new condo market has led to a sharp downturn in construction activity.
In the third quarter, only two projects totalling 614 units began construction — a 77 per cent decline from a year earlier and 88 per cent below the 10-year average.
As construction dries up, it will hurt supply in the coming years. However, a silver lining to that is the supply crunch may kick-start the market again, Hildebrand said.
“The lack of activity occurring today will surely lead to a lack of supply in a couple years,” he said, “helping to restart the engine for the market.”
