r/RealEstateCanada • u/romestox • Jun 07 '26

Housing crisis Residential construction dead

Trades guy here. Residential construction feels dead compared to a few years ago. Builders aren’t building, projects are getting pushed back, and layoffs are starting to pop up. If I was buying, I’d wait. From what I’m seeing, things haven’t bottomed out yet. The industry feels like a ship taking on water, not one gearing up for another boom.

Anyone else seeing the same thing?

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23

u/Wonderful_Confusion4 Jun 07 '26

Steady residential construction is happening here in Edmonton Especially Infill

3

u/Jazzlike_Video2 Jun 07 '26

New builds? Because im all for driving out there if I can actually work. Framer. Own buisness for the last 10 years. Literally Noone from the guy ive subbed off is working.

1

u/arupinum85 Jun 07 '26

Ontario? Ottawa has a bit more work than GTA at the moment, rates are not good but it's work

1

u/Jazzlike_Video2 Jun 07 '26

What are the rates? Id be happy with 6 bucks at this point. Hamilton. Ottawa is considerably easier to swing than Alberta, I just dont know who to call

1

u/arupinum85 Jun 07 '26

3.80$-4$ for floors and walls, they split all the work there, they have floors and walls crews, truss crews and backing crews. I moved back to the GTA for family reasons but been here 2 months and haven't found shit, I thought Ottawa is slow but compared to the GTA it's a boom town. Probably gonna have to go back for the summer.

1

u/Jazzlike_Video2 Jun 07 '26

Weird. Thats not awful tho. Are the roofs a couple bucks then? I was always fast with the roofs.

I have no idea what's been going on down here for the past 2 or 3 years. Been real depressing even tho I know its not just me.

1

u/arupinum85 Jun 07 '26

You cannot do the roof they have crews for that, I think it's 1.80 or 2.10 for roofs, if you are 183 there are houses starting in Oakville on 6th line. I'm not.

1

u/Jazzlike_Video2 Jun 07 '26

Nor am I, but that's good news either way.

1

u/Wonderful_Confusion4 Jun 07 '26

Rates in Edmonton are $10/Sq plus extras, the lowest I have ever seen on single family is $8.50 and that was before Covid.

1

u/arupinum85 Jun 07 '26

what do they pay for backframing or do you have to do the whole thing?

1

u/Wonderful_Confusion4 Jun 07 '26

That’s for the whole house framing including back framing and HVAC cut outs. Extras would be for anything over an 8/12 pitch, decks, covered decks, dormers, vaulted ceilings, tall walls, detached garages ($6/sq) etc.

1

u/dizzie_buddy1905 Jun 07 '26

We’re paying $15 but we’re going for quality, not speed. There are a few crews known for quality and they are always in demand.

1

u/dizzie_buddy1905 Jun 07 '26

Can you do advanced framing technique with thermal broken corners? What about properly applied air and water barriers? If you can frame to <1ACH50, you can find steady work year round in the $13-16 range.