The City of Regina is seeing an uptick in housing starts, per a Canadian Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC) report.
In the report, Regina has seen a 40 per cent increase in housing starts from the first six months of 2025 compared to 2024.
Stu Niebergall, president and CEO of the Regina and Region Home Builders’ Association, said there are several factors behind this increase.
“Regina right now has the most affordable housing of any major city in the country, and we’ve got very stable and growing employment here.”
A recent RBC report revealed Regina has a 26.1 per cent aggregate measure, which determines how much of a person’s monthly income goes towards paying off their home.
Additionally, a Labour Force Survey from Statistics Canada also mentioned Regina’s workforce was up by 6,400 in June from the year before, and has an unemployment rate of 4.9 per cent, one of the lowest in the country.
Niebergall said these numbers show a different story for Regina compared to most of Canada, as the country is facing housing industry challenges from a reduction in immigration and uncertainty with the economy.
CHMC’s data also notes a 53 per cent uptick in housing starts for single-detached homes in Regina.
Niebergall mentioned purpose-built rentals made up most of the new housing units in the city since the pandemic, but the marketplace is starting to see a balance.
“We’re seeing a little closer to 50-50 in terms of what’s being built for home ownership and what’s being built for rental units.”
Niebergall believes this is because Regina is punching above its weight in attracting newcomers.
“This has really driven some rental demand [and] now some of that is starting to transition into housing for home ownership.”
Currently, 170 of 939 housing starts for Regina in 2025 are single-detached homes. The rest of the housing starts include semi-detached (86), row (303), and planned groups/apartments (380).
The city has also issued 554 new home permits, which is up 50 per cent from this time last year, according to the Regina and Region Home Builders’ Association.
While the number of permits and housing starts is different, Niebergall explained the reasoning behind this.
“[CHMC] reports the number of units that they physically see under construction, and they’ve got some criteria of what that looks like,” he said. “However, some permits taken out may not start construction until the following year, which is why we’re seeing these numbers.”
At the start of the year, Niebergall estimated 1,300 new housing units would be built in Regina for 2025, which is up from the roughly 1,000 units the city had been averaging. With 55 per cent of housing permits taken out in the second half of the year, Niebergall expects the city to exceed the forecasted number.
Even with this increase, Niebergall said Regina’s isn’t anywhere near meeting its target for 2051.
The city has estimated 56,860 units need to be built over the next 25 years to meet a projected population growth of 370,000.
Niebergall noted the city would need to build between 1,600 and 2,000 units yearly to reach those targets.
As more neighbourhoods start developing in west Regina, Niebergall believes the city should start targeting growth to the east. “There’s about 370 acres there that could be under development sooner than later.”
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