So how is London doing on its goal to build 47,000 new homes?

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More than 25 per cent of the way through London’s 10-year commitment to a provincial housing target, the city has seen 11 per cent of the expected homes built or started.

In its plan to build 1.5 million homes across Ontario, the provincial government assigned London a goal to build 47,000 homes between 2022 and 2031. So far, builders in the city have broken ground on 5,584 new homes.

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Despite London missing its 2023 target of 3,447 homes, with builders breaking ground on only 1,804, both politicians and developers say they are optimistic the city can get closer to its goals this year and next.

As of July 31, construction has started on 1,579 homes this year in London, 40 per cent of the city’s 2024 target of 3,917 units, says a report that will be presented Monday to city council’s planning and environment committee.

“We are definitely in a better position this year than we were last year,” said deputy mayor Shawn Lewis, vice-chair of the planning and environment committee. “I actually expected to get even busier, given the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cut this week.”

The housing figures are based on the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s definition of a housing start, which is the beginning of construction. If a city reaches 80 per cent of its annual target, it is awarded a share of $1.2 billion in extra infrastructure funding.

That benchmark is a sticking point for cities, London included, that have argued the city has no control over when companies begin construction. Cities say they would rather see evaluation based on council approvals or building permits issued, but the province has not budged.

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To that end, the city is improving significantly. The report highlights council has more than doubled its number of approved units this year over last, and has approved 21,392 units since 2022.

Developments still can take years to come to fruition after council approval. The number of building permits issued by the city, meaning construction can begin, has rocketed to 2,464 in July this year, up from 753 at the same time last year.

“Obviously the year-to-date numbers in terms of our approvals are fantastic, and that’s a reflection both of the commitment of council to get approvals for housing to happen and the confidence that the sector has in terms of wanting to build here in London,” Lewis said. “I think that this is just the tip of the iceberg . . . to see even better results in the 2025 calendar year.”

Mike Wallace, executive director of the London Development Institute, a consortium of local developers, credits the city for investing in its building department and bringing on additional personnel to make permitting and inspections more efficient.

With improvement in economic conditions, coupled with upcoming changes to zoning rules such as maximum heights, he said he believes London can get on track or even exceed targets.

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“I think moving toward that (47,000 home) target and not away is what’s really important, and the last number of monthly building reports have indicated that we are moving toward that target,” Wallace said.

The city must be ready for when conditions improve, he said.

Jared Zaifman, chief executive of the London Home Builders’ Association, said the numbers are “nice to see” after what was “one of the toughest years” in London’s construction industry.

He said many of the permits being issued are for apartments due to intense demand for rentals and slow sales of single family homes and townhomes, but conditions and interest for ownership is improving because of interest rate cuts, which could boost London’s numbers even more.

“It’s sort of a chicken and the egg for a builder to want to outlay thousands or millions of dollars that they’ll need to put on the line to build new homes . . . there needs to be some more confidence that the buyers are going to be there, which there is certainly some uptick,” Zaifman said.

“I think we’re all quite hopeful that spring, summer 2025 is going to be a really exciting year in the industry.”

jmoulton@postmedia.com

How are SWO cities doing on 2024 housing targets so far?

(Between January and June. Source: ontario.ca)

• London: 1,271 out of 3,917 units, or 32 per cent
• Windsor: 924 out of 1,083 units, or 85 per cent
• Chatham-Kent: 67 out of 92 units, or 72 per cent
• Woodstock: 426 out of 458 units, or 93 per cent
• Sarnia: 79 out of 83 units, or 95 per cent
• Norfolk County: 88 out of 475 units, or 18 per cent

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