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Toronto vs. Hamilton: construction market comparison

How residential construction in Toronto and Hamilton differs on activity, growth, mix and cost, using population-normalized official data.

Trailing 12 months ending June 2026

What separates these markets

  • Housing-start intensity is similar: Toronto 3.76 and Hamilton 3.66 starts per 1,000 residents.
  • Starts are moving in opposite directions: Hamilton +28.4% and Toronto −3.7% versus the prior 12 months.
  • Hamilton started more units than it completed over the past 12 months (3.66 starts vs. 2.81 completions per 1,000).

Generated from the values in the tables below using fixed, symmetric rules. Descriptive only — not a forecast.

Activity and intensity

Activity and intensity: Toronto and Hamilton
MetricTorontoHamilton
Housing starts per 1,000 residents 3.763.66
Housing starts, trailing 12 months 26,7373,189
Housing completions per 1,000 residents Higher value is 1.42× the lower3.992.81
Units under construction per 1,000 residents Higher value is 1.60× the lower12.978.11
Pending starts per 1,000 residents Higher value is 3.37× the lower2.390.71
Dwelling units authorized per 1,000 residents Higher value is 1.62× the lower5.023.10

Growth (latest 12 months vs. prior 12 months)

Growth (latest 12 months vs. prior 12 months): Toronto and Hamilton
MetricTorontoHamilton
Housing starts, change vs prior 12 months −3.7%+28.4%
Completions, change vs prior 12 months −20.4%+53.0%
Residential permit value growth (nominal) −11.7%−13.6%
Residential permit value growth (constant dollars) −12.6%−15.4%
Single-dwelling permit value growth (constant dollars) −25.8%−19.1%
Multiple-dwelling permit value growth (constant dollars) −8.0%−12.1%
Residential investment growth (nominal) −9.0%−4.8%
Residential investment growth (constant dollars) −10.0%−6.9%

Market mix

Market mix: Toronto and Hamilton
MetricTorontoHamilton
Renovation share of residential investment 50.8%60.3%
Alterations share of residential permit value 10.0%16.8%
Single-detached share of housing starts 10.7%9.5%
Apartment share of housing starts 75.6%86.5%
Rental share of housing starts 45.1%50.8%

Construction cost

Construction cost: Toronto and Hamilton
MetricTorontoHamilton
Residential construction price growth +0.9%Not published

Size

Size: Toronto and Hamilton
MetricTorontoHamilton
Population 7,108,874871,143

Nominal growth includes construction-price change; constant-dollar growth is Statistics Canada’s price-adjusted series. Values not published for a market read “Not published”.

Rankings where they differ most

More comparisons

Sources and data period

Figures cover the trailing 12 months ending June 2026, the latest period published for all 16 markets. Source data retrieved through September 12, 2026. This page was built on November 8, 2026; the build date is not the data period. Values not published by the source are shown as “Not published”, never estimated.

Methodology, definitions and limitations

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    Construction Market Intelligence

    An independent publication built from official Statistics Canada and CMHC data. Current data: trailing 12 months ending June 2026.

    Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Statistics Canada or CMHC.