As the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates once said, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” “Desperate” is perhaps the best word to describe Canada’s prospective homebuyers in early 2025, particularly young individuals who increasingly see homeownership as an unachievable goal. The lack of affordability is among many of the factors that contribute to Canada’s perplexing housing market. Over the past few decades, the country has struggled to provide attainable housing for long-time residents and newcomers alike. The inability of municipalities to match the ever-increasing housing demand with sufficient housing supply and the have culminated in a full-blown national housing crisis. Affordability, a problem that has historically been specific to coastal cities, now impacts the entire country and threatens to worsen without urgent changes.
Luckily, one city has risen to the occasion in recent years to tackle that housing demand. Amidst nationwide municipal struggles to achieve housing attainability, the City of Edmonton has maintained an unparalleled level of housing affordability compared to most cities. Following the introduction of the new zoning bylaw on January 1, 2024, Edmonton saw a record number of permits approved, residential units approved for construction (owner-occupied and rentals), housing starts and average housing prices. The number of permits for new units that the City approved in 2024 stood at 5,723, partly stemming from a reduction in land use changes. Housing starts in the region in 2024, as per the Canadian Mortgage & Housing Corporation (2025), stood at 18,384. Despite a surplus of spec homes amongst homebuilders at the tail end of 2023, the reduced approval constraints in the zoning bylaw and quicker approval times correlated to the new records.
Construction typically follows building permit approval. The zoning bylaw approval has correlated to a sharp uptick in the number of starts in the Edmonton CMA. The average first quarter starts in the region from 2019 to 2023 was 2,367. However, Q1 starts rose to 3,487 in 2024 and 4,920 in 2025, which represent eye-popping increases of 47.3% and 107.8%, respectively.
The zoning bylaw change is noteworthy for its elimination of single-home zoning, something that the City of Edmonton first implemented in 2018. The largest demand for housing continues to be single-family homes, the longstanding preferred housing type in Canada, and Edmonton is no different. The key to the zoning bylaw’s effectiveness is the impact on multi-dwelling permit approvals and starts. When single-family home starts were excluded, semi-detached, rowhouse, and multifamily starts in 2024 rose 4.6%, 62.8%, and 60.9% above their 2019 to 2023 averages.
The increase in the number of approved permits and starts, particularly for multi-dwelling structures, illustrates that the zoning regulation changes are paving the way for greater density in the City. The above figures evidence the effectiveness of the zoning bylaw change. Reducing the instances of land use changes needed for multifamily projects, particularly in established areas, accelerates permitting times because the inclusion of “as-of-right” zoning negates special approval from municipal personnel. Uses that were previously subject to the opinions of planners can now pass, allowing builders to save time. The less rigamarole and scrutiny that permit applications are subject to, the less money builders expend in the preconstruction stage and lower the total construction costs will be. These savings can be passed on to customers.
Beyond the zoning bylaw changes, the City of Edmonton is noteworthy for permit-related innovations. Secondary suites, or accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are another part of the resolving the housing affordability conundrum. There are basement suites as well as backyard suites (also known as granny flats). Within those ADU types, new types of innovations are occurring in Edmonton. One can develop a secondary unit above a rear garage (or a garage suite) as well as basement suites within backyard suites. In the fall of 2024, Edmonton became the first Canadian city to automate developments permits.
There is no doubt that drastic change is needed to fulfill the housing demand in the country. Without shifts, the housing crisis threatens to worsen beyond insurmountable levels. Changes such as the new Edmonton Zoning Bylaw are steps in the right direction. Increases in permits and starts, coupled with decreased permitting times have cemented the Edmonton region as a leader in providing attainable housing, particularly in a time when it is needed more than ever.
Interested in more stats and facts? Email BILD Edmonton Metro for the latest research and reports: info@bildedmonton.com.
Written by Garren Sharpe