Single-family home starts hit 69-year low in new Ontario housing data [Video]

Ontario’s financial watchdog is pouring fresh cold water on the Ford government’s ambitious plan to build 1.5 million new homes by 2031, with a new report signalling construction continues to stall and the number of new single-family homes is at its lowest in almost 70 years.

An economic summary released by the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario Thursday painted a dire picture of the province’s housing starts, although it found home resales were increasing slightly and some general positives in growing employment and trade.

The report found new housing starts declined by 17 per cent from April to September this year compared with last. Over those three months, generally among the most productive for homebuilding, Ontario saw a total of 20,600 new units started, below the four-year average of 22,900.

Those figures also saw a historic dip in the construction of more traditional, sprawling developments.

“Construction of single detached homes …