Ontario Homebuilding 2025: Customer Experience, Efficiency, and Practical AI

Ontario’s housing market in 2025 is defined by affordability pressures, cautious buyers, and leaner teams. While policy headlines dominate, the builders who will succeed this year are focusing on three quieter, but decisive, trends: customer experience, operational efficiency, and the practical applications of AI.

This article is a snapshot of what we’re seeing. For a fuller picture on the state of the buyer experience, including actionable takeaways for builders, check out our 2025 Mini Insights Report — you can request your copy here.

Market Context: Why 2025 Feels Different

Starts are down, inventory is piling up, and yet buyer expectations continue to rise. It’s a paradox that makes 2025 especially challenging: delivering more certainty and service at a time when resources are tight and sales are harder to secure.

The numbers illustrate just how much pressure Ontario builders are under:

1. Fewer Starts, Higher Stakes for Every Buyer

Ontario starts (Jan–Jun 2025) fell 25% year-over-year, with Toronto down 44% (CMHC, July 2025). Fewer homes being built means every buyer journey carries more weight — putting added pressure on builders to maximize each interaction.

2. Slow Sales Make Trust-Building Critical

GTA new home sales in June were 82% below the 10-year average, leaving 19 months of inventory on the ground (BILD/Altus, July 2025). With sales pipelines stretched, the ability to keep prospects engaged and nurture trust over a longer cycle has never been more critical.

3. Resales Are Rising, Yet Buyers Still Hesitate

National MLS® sales rose 3.8% month-over-month in July, led by Ontario markets, though volumes remain below historic norms (CREA, Aug 2025). Demand is showing signs of life, but buyers are still moving carefully — making clear communication and reduced friction deciding factors in whether they transact.

4. Higher Costs, Thinner Margins, Tougher Choices

Building materials for a typical 2,400-sq-ft home cost about $98,000 more than in 2020 (CHBA, Apr 2025). Rising costs squeeze margins, which means operational efficiency and streamlined service delivery aren’t just nice-to-haves — they’re survival strategies.

With affordability stretched and consumer confidence fragile, the battleground isn’t just price — it’s experience, efficiency, and trust.

Customer Experience as the Growth Lever

When affordability is tight, incentives don’t close deals — trust and ease do.

• Personalization is the New Baseline - 73% of customers say brands treat them as individuals, up from 39% in 2023 (Salesforce, 2025). Buyers compare your experience not just to other builders — but to every service they use daily.

• Transparency Builds Trust - 72% of customers want to know when they’re interacting with AI (Salesforce, 2025). Being open about automation strengthens confidence in a high-stakes, emotional journey.

• AI as Table Stakes - 81% of consumers see AI as essential to modern service (Zendesk, 2025). Builders who use it to deflect routine questions and keep buyers informed set themselves apart.

“Consumers are lacking the confidence to enter into one of their largest purchases… the market is bumping along at rock bottom,” says Edward Jegg of Altus (BILD/Altus, July 2025).

What this means for builders:

In today’s market, incentives alone rarely sway a cautious buyer. Instead, the differentiator is trust — and trust is built through experience. That might mean simple, transparent milestone updates that reduce anxiety, or making sure buyers never feel like they’re “in the dark” about what’s happening next. In fact, small touches like proactive check-ins or anticipatory reminders often carry as much weight as bigger gestures.

When buyers are nervous about committing, the builder who makes the process feel easiest is the one who wins. That doesn’t just mean less friction in the sales office; it means delivering a consistently supportive journey all the way through design, construction, close, and move-in.

Doing More With Less: The New Normal

With longer sales cycles and higher service overhead per buyer, Ontario builders are under pressure to do more with fewer resources.

• Confidence at Record Lows – Ontario’s Housing Market Index is just 7.4 for single-family and 2.9 for multi-family homes (CHBA, Apr 2025). Builders feel stretched, focused on survival more than growth.

• Costs Keep Climbing – Materials for a standard 2,400-sq-ft home are $98K higher than in 2020 (CHBA, Apr 2025). With margins tight, there’s little room for extra headcount or manual service — efficiency is now critical.

• Automation Goes Mainstream – 12.2% of Canadian businesses now use AI for service, and 25% use chatbots or virtual agents (Statistics Canada, Jun 2025). Builders who delay risk falling behind rising buyer expectations for fast, consistent answers.

“High interest rates and material costs are compounding the affordability challenge,” notes Kevin Lee, CEO of CHBA(CHBA, Apr 2025).

For builder teams, that means efficiency isn’t just a goal — it’s a necessity to protect both margins and buyer experience.

What this means for builders:

The slowdown has created a paradox: each home now takes more communication and nurturing, but most teams are operating with fewer resources. It’s an efficiency squeeze that leaves little margin for error. Buyers still expect timely answers, consistent updates, and personalized service — even if your sales and admin teams are stretched thinner than ever.

This is why many industries — including homebuilding — are leaning into automation to fill the gap. AI isn’t about replacing people, but about giving smaller teams the ability to keep up with buyer expectations. Automating routine reminders or deflecting repetitive questions frees up time for staff to focus where human connection really matters: resolving issues, guiding decisions, and creating those “moments of trust” that drive referrals.

Practical AI That's Driving Real Value

AI is no longer hype — it’s a practical advantage when applied where it matters most.

• AI is Already Paying Off – 90% of CX leaders report positive ROI from AI investments (Zendesk, 2025). For builders, this proves AI isn’t experimental — it’s a real lever for reducing friction and keeping buyers engaged.

• Executive Confidence is Rising – 66% of CEOs say AI is delivering measurable business benefits, especially in efficiency and satisfaction (IDC via Microsoft, July 2025). Adoption is moving from pilot projects to board-level priorities.

• Efficiency Gains Add Up – Companies using AI-powered customer service report 20–30% cost savings (Netomi via Statista, 2025). In a margin-sensitive market, lowering strain without sacrificing support is a competitive edge.

• Returns Multiply Quickly – AI adoption is generating nearly 4× ROI on average when embedded into core workflows (Amplifai, June 2025). Targeting high-friction moments in the buyer journey creates the biggest lift.

"The post-inflation crisis pickup seems to have finally arrived,” shares CREA’s Shaun Cathcart (CREA, Aug 2025).

But the recovery is uneven — which means service differentiation is more important than ever.

What this means for builders:

AI has been talked about in the industry for years, but 2025 is the year it has started to quietly deliver tangible, practical value. The builders making it work aren’t chasing flashy pilot projects — they’re applying it in focused, practical ways. Answering buyers’ most common questions, sending personalized construction updates, or providing a simple natural language-enabled interface are all examples of where AI is improving the buyer experience in measurable ways.

What’s important here is that AI isn’t seen as a replacement for human service, but as an enhancer of it. Buyers still want reassurance that someone is there when issues arise. But if an AI assistant can save them from waiting two days for a simple answer, or if it can deliver updates that feel timely and personal, it directly strengthens trust. In a market where sales are scarce and loyalty is fragile, that kind of consistency is what builds long-term advantage.

The Three Levers Deciding Who Wins in 2025

Ontario builders can’t control interest rates or government policy. But they can control how buyers feel, how efficiently teams operate, and how intelligently they apply new tools.

In 2025 and beyond, those three levers — experience, efficiency, and practical AI — will separate the builders who just weather the market from those who grow stronger in it.

This blog is just the start. Get the full 2025 Mini Insights Report for more stats and strategies, or connect with our team to explore how you can put these insights into action.