{"id":25731,"date":"2025-05-01T15:15:40","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T22:15:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/?p=25731"},"modified":"2025-05-01T07:18:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T14:18:26","slug":"the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/05\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\/","title":{"rendered":"The Storm Facing Homebuilders : Rising Costs, Labour Challenges &#038; Tariff Uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Canada\u2019s homebuilding sector is navigating a delicate recovery, challenged by rising costs, global trade tensions and a persistent labour shortage, according to Canadian Home Builders\u2019 Association (CHBA) CEO Kevin Lee.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Lee described a sector that began 2025 with optimism following a difficult 2024 marked by uneven regional performance and high interest rates. While provinces such as Alberta and Quebec saw gains, housing starts declined significantly in Ontario and British Columbia\u2014two provinces facing some of the country\u2019s greatest housing demand.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lee noted that early signs of improvement in 2025 were soon overshadowed by uncertainty tied to renewed trade tensions stemming from the United States. \u201cYou layer in the fear of tariffs,\u201d he said, \u201cand sales completely dried up.\u201d In February, home sales in the Greater Toronto Area fell by 28.5% month over month, the worst level since the 2008 financial crisis.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Tariff Uncertainty Stalls Optimism<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The potential for new American tariffs under former president Donald Trump, combined with possible retaliatory Canadian measures, has rattled builder confidence. Lee said that while direct costs from US tariffs are limited, Canadian counter-tariffs on construction materials could significantly raise expenses. \u201c[If] they\u2019re at 25%, then those construction materials would go up by 25%,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The homebuilding sector, which employs 880,000 Canadians and contributed $182 billion to the economy last year, is especially vulnerable during economic downturns. As Lee put it, \u201cWe\u2019re an industry that\u2019s built to weather the storm\u2014and we\u2019re in one right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Policy Barriers Slow New Construction<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also pointed to policy barriers that prevent faster recovery. Long permitting timelines\u2014averaging 29 months in Toronto\u2014and soaring development charges in large cities hinder new construction. In contrast, Edmonton, with average development charges around $22,000, has seen relative success.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite recent federal initiatives to support affordability\u2014such as easing mortgage rules and extending amortization periods\u2014Lee warned that broader reforms are still needed. These include adjusting the stress test and restructuring how infrastructure is funded to reduce the burden on new homebuyers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Labour Challenges and Innovative Housing<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another key challenge is labour. With 22% of the workforce set to retire in the next decade, the industry must recruit roughly 130,000 new workers to maintain output. Immigration policies and vocational education reforms, Lee suggested, must adapt to fill critical gaps in skilled trades.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">While Lee believes in the promise of prefabricated and factory-built housing, he acknowledged such methods are not cheaper and require substantial upfront investment. \u201cWe need to create a better environment where people can afford and buy more houses,\u201d he said, \u201c[and] then de-risk the investments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lee noted that other countries are facing similar challenges in terms of their housing market. He highlighted the importance of investing in infrastructure and transit to create new opportunities that could enable affordable housing.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mpamag.com\/ca\/specialty\/commercial\/canadian-housing-outlook-facing-a-triple-threat-costs-trade-and-labour\/532814\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Canadian Housing Outlook Facing A Triple Threat : Costs, Trade &amp; Labour<\/a> by Jonalyn Cueto | CMP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Canada\u2019s homebuilding sector is navigating a delicate recovery, challenged by rising costs, global trade tensions and a persistent labour shortage, according to Canadian Home Builders\u2019 Association (CHBA) CEO Kevin Lee. &hellip; [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/05\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\/\">read more<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pre-sale-projects","category-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Storm Facing Homebuilders : Rising Costs, Labour Challenges &amp; Tariff Uncertainty &#8226; Rory C Real Estate | Oakwyn Realty<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/05\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"The Storm Facing Homebuilders : Rising Costs, Labour Challenges &amp; Tariff Uncertainty &#8226; Rory C Real Estate | Oakwyn Realty\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Canada\u2019s homebuilding sector is navigating a delicate recovery, challenged by rising costs, global trade tensions and a persistent labour shortage, according to Canadian Home Builders\u2019 Association (CHBA) CEO Kevin Lee. &hellip; [read more]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@RoryClipsham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@RoryClipsham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rory Clipsham\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Rory Clipsham\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0672b9777e67473b9bd9247df49499c7\"},\"headline\":\"The Storm Facing Homebuilders : Rising Costs, Labour Challenges &#038; Tariff Uncertainty\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-01T22:15:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":486,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0672b9777e67473b9bd9247df49499c7\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Pre-Sale Projects\",\"Real Estate\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Storm Facing Homebuilders : Rising Costs, Labour Challenges & Tariff Uncertainty &#8226; Rory C Real Estate | Oakwyn Realty\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-01T22:15:40+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Storm Facing Homebuilders : Rising Costs, Labour Challenges &#038; Tariff Uncertainty\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Rory C Real Estate | Oakwyn Realty\",\"description\":\"Rory C Real Estate Updates | Home Selling &amp; Buying\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0672b9777e67473b9bd9247df49499c7\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0672b9777e67473b9bd9247df49499c7\",\"name\":\"Rory Clipsham\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/RoryC-white-w-tagline.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/RoryC-white-w-tagline.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/RoryC-white-w-tagline.jpg\",\"width\":504,\"height\":504,\"caption\":\"Rory Clipsham\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/RoryC-white-w-tagline.jpg\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/pg\\\/BurnabyandCoquitlamHomes\\\/about\\\/?ref=page_internal\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/roryclipshamhomes\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/RoryClipsham\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Storm Facing Homebuilders : Rising Costs, Labour Challenges & Tariff Uncertainty &#8226; Rory C Real Estate | Oakwyn Realty","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/05\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"The Storm Facing Homebuilders : Rising Costs, Labour Challenges & Tariff Uncertainty &#8226; Rory C Real Estate | Oakwyn Realty","twitter_description":"Canada\u2019s homebuilding sector is navigating a delicate recovery, challenged by rising costs, global trade tensions and a persistent labour shortage, according to Canadian Home Builders\u2019 Association (CHBA) CEO Kevin Lee. &hellip; [read more]","twitter_creator":"@RoryClipsham","twitter_site":"@RoryClipsham","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rory Clipsham","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/05\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/05\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\/"},"author":{"name":"Rory Clipsham","@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0672b9777e67473b9bd9247df49499c7"},"headline":"The Storm Facing Homebuilders : Rising Costs, Labour Challenges &#038; Tariff Uncertainty","datePublished":"2025-05-01T22:15:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/05\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\/"},"wordCount":486,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0672b9777e67473b9bd9247df49499c7"},"articleSection":["Pre-Sale Projects","Real Estate"],"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/05\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/05\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\/","url":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/05\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\/","name":"The Storm Facing Homebuilders : Rising Costs, Labour Challenges & Tariff Uncertainty &#8226; Rory C Real Estate | Oakwyn Realty","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-05-01T22:15:40+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/05\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/05\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/05\/the-storm-facing-homebuilders-rising-costs-labour-challenges-tariff-uncertainty\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Storm Facing Homebuilders : Rising Costs, Labour Challenges &#038; Tariff Uncertainty"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/","name":"Rory C Real Estate | Oakwyn Realty","description":"Rory C Real Estate Updates | Home Selling &amp; Buying","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0672b9777e67473b9bd9247df49499c7"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0672b9777e67473b9bd9247df49499c7","name":"Rory Clipsham","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/RoryC-white-w-tagline.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/RoryC-white-w-tagline.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/RoryC-white-w-tagline.jpg","width":504,"height":504,"caption":"Rory Clipsham"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/RoryC-white-w-tagline.jpg"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pg\/BurnabyandCoquitlamHomes\/about\/?ref=page_internal","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/roryclipshamhomes\/","https:\/\/x.com\/RoryClipsham"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25731"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25732,"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25731\/revisions\/25732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}