Ottawa new home construction sets new record in 2021
New home construction hit a record high in the city of Ottawa in 2021, with nearly 30 per cent of the new dwellings built in Ottawa's intensification target areas.
The 2021 Annual Development Report shows construction began on 9,402 new homes last year, up 1.8 per cent from 2020 and the most housing starts in a single year since amalgamation in 2000.
Single-detached homes accounted for 29.5 per cent of all new housing starts in Ottawa, up from 26.4 per cent of all starts in 2020.
Semi-detached homes accounted for 2.3 per cent of all home starts last year, while apartments accounted for 40.3 per cent of all home starts. The report says the proportion of semi-detached and row house starts decreased in 2021 from 2020.
Staff say the larger Ottawa-Gatineau area ranked fifth in "absolute housing starts" among Canada's six largest metropolitan areas in 2021, with 13,280 units built. While Ottawa-Gatineau saw a 1.9 per cent increase in housing starts last year, Calgary saw a 62 per cent increase in housing starts, followed by Montreal at 18.6 per cent.
Ottawa's existing Official Plan directs intensification to areas with high levels of transit service or where dwellings may be located close to employment areas. The report says 3,192 residential units were issued building permits in intensification targets areas, accounting for 28 per cent of net new units issued permits in Ottawa.
A total for 1,401 permits were issued around existing Rapid Transit Stations, while 1,181 units will be built around future LRT stations.
Council approved a new Official Plan in October 2021, establishing an increasing residential intensification target to 2035. The Official Plan is still under review by the Ontario government.
Ottawa's Development Report shows the average resale price of a new home was $645,976 in 2021, up 22 per cent from the year before. Ottawa's rental vacancy rate was 3.4 per cent.
The city of Ottawa's population increased 0.8 per cent in 2021 to 1,054,800. The downtown area saw the greatest population growth in 2021, up 11.7 per cent last year compared to a 2.9 per cent decrease the year before.
According to the report, 588,700 Ottawa residents were employed in 2021, with 182,000 residents working in "knowledge", 134,000 working for government and 84,000 employed in the retail sector. Staff say the "Industrial and Resource Cluster" saw the largest employment growth last year, with 12,900 new jobs. Ottawa's retail sector saw a decline of 3,000 jobs in 2021 from the year before.
The wards of Barrhaven and Gloucester-South Nepean had the highest ward populations in Ottawa.
The planning committee will receive the annual development report at its meeting on Aug. 25.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.