London CMA New Home Starts - May 2026

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has released its latest new home starts data, highlighting residential construction activity across the London Census Metropolitan Area (CMA).

Key Highlights for May 2026:

  • In May, there were 131 new home starts in the London CMA, mostly consisting of rental apartments in Downtown London and ground-oriented homes in South London.
  • In the first five months of 2026, there were 2,096 new home starts in the London CMA. This year’s activity was 72% above the January to May ten-year benchmark of 1,220 starts.
  • In the City of London, there were 1,904 new home starts in the first five months of 2026, which was well above their January to May ten-year benchmark of 906 starts.
  • In St. Thomas, there were 76 new home starts in the first five months of 2026, which was below their January to May ten-year benchmark of 98 starts.
  • In the remainder of the region, there were 116 new home starts in the first five months of 2026, which was below their January to May ten-year benchmark of 180 starts.
  • Housing starts in the London CMA could ease from current elevated levels because the new home starts pipeline (the inventory of permit-approved housing units tracked for housing starts activity) has moderated toward historical averages.

The attached report includes detailed data for our region, broken down by municipality and dwelling type, along with a neighbourhood spotlight highlighting where construction activity was concentrated.

Why This Matters

Housing starts are an important indicator of future housing supply and market activity. Tracking new construction trends can help REALTORS® better understand local development patterns and potential impacts on inventory levels.

Additional Resources

This update pertains to new construction housing starts (number of homes to be added to newly poured foundations). 

CMHC separately tracks and publishes data on conversion housing starts (number of homes to be added to existing structures), released on the final working day of each month, available at the following link: Residential Conversions Data Tables