![\"new-toronto-housing-market-compressed\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/new-toronto-housing-market-compressed.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: James Bombales<\/em><\/p>\nWhile home construction in Canada will be significantly disrupted through the spring by the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the country\u2019s largest real estate consultancies sees builder activity beginning to ramp back up by the summer as restrictions introduced to combat the virus are loosened.<\/p>\n
Speaking as part of a newly released web series, Altus Group Vice President and Chief Economist Peter Norman said home construction across the country would experience \u201cconsiderable interruption\u201d between April and June due to the strict social distancing and business shutdown measures in effect. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cThereafter starts will begin to pick up again, but still be impacted by short-term interruptions to the sales cycle, and from supply chain turbulence at least through the third quarter. By the fourth quarter, starts are expected to have returned to normal and may even exceed recent highs as builders play catch up,\u201d said Norman.<\/p>\n
Altus Group is currently forecasting 158,000 housing starts in Canada for 2020, a massive decline from the 208,700 starts recorded across the country last year. Prior to the pandemic, the firm had been projecting 209,000 starts for the year and 214,000 starts for 2021. <\/p>\n
Housing market observers will then be pleased to hear that Norman believes the construction bounce back through 2021 will be substantial, with Altus pencilling in over 210,000 starts for the year. <\/p>\n