A Canada housing crash? Don’t count on it, says RBC economist

Fergal McAlinden
other

“This is more likely to be a soft landing than a severe correction or some kind of crash or meltdown”

Homebuying activity in Canada is slowing from its frenzied pace of the past two years – but the prospect of a housing market crash appears slim, according to a prominent Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) economist.
Robert Hogue (pictured top), assistant chief economist at the banking giant, told Canadian Mortgage Professional that there were still multiple factors working in the market’s favour even if home price appreciation begins to level off.
“Our base case scenario is that prices will moderate; we thought starting midyear, but in some markets, they probably have already started,” he said. “But this is more likely to be a soft landing than a severe correction or some kind of crash or meltdown, and there are still a lot of factors supporting the market [with] demographics being central.
“I would not exclude for material price declines in some markets, but as a Canada-wide phenomenon I think at this point the odds are it’s still going to be a moderate correction.”
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) recently revealed that home resales had decreased by 12.6% across Canada between March and April 2022, with the home price index posting its first monthly decline for two years.
Read next: Toronto housing market: Will the slowdown continue?
National home sales were down 25.7% year over year – and in Toronto, one of the country’s most feverish housing markets during the first two years of the pandemic, April sales came in 41% lower than the same time last year.
Still, those results were to be expected, Hogue said, echoing the view of many observers that the record-shattering market of recent times has been in some part an anomaly spurred by the unprecedented pandemic-era buying environment.
“We have to be mindful where we’re coming from,” he said. “We’ve been almost two years in a frantic market… where bidding wars have spread throughout the country and created a lot of frustration for many young Canadian buyers.
“The fact that the market is cooling is not a shock, because the levels of activity up until now were just not sustainable over the longer term. Now, are there risks associated with that? Of course. Once you reach a turning point in any kind of cycle it may prompt some overreaction from certain market players.”
RBC remains confident that the coming correction will be “reasonably well-behaved,” said Hogue, even though it might be more abrupt in certain markets such as Ontario and British Columbia which are likely to face “pretty stiff headwinds.”
“We’ve already seen in April some softening in activity, and even some softening in prices in many markets,” he said of Ontario. “BC was a bit more of a mixed picture, but probably going forward we’re going to see more softness starting to appear. So clearly the highest priced markets will face more challenges in the context of rising interest rates.”
Those rate hikes have been the story of the year so far where Canada’s mortgage market is concerned, with the Bank of Canada having heralded the end of the rock-bottom-rate environment of the pandemic by introducing increases to its benchmark rate in the early months of 2022.
Read next: Inflation hits a new high in Canada
 The central bank is set to issue its latest statement on that trendsetting interest rate next Wednesday (June 01), an announcement that’s widely expected to include a third consecutive rate hike as the Bank grapples with elevated inflation.
Speaking before a Senate committee at the end of April, the Bank’s governor, Tiff Macklem, said it was prepared to act “forcefully” to get inflation under control.
Hogue and RBC are expecting half-percentage-point increases in each of the Bank’s next two rate announcements, and the economist said there was little chance that news of a cooling housing market would give the central bank pause for thought on its planned interest rate trajectory for the remainder of the year.
“I think the Bank of Canada has its eyes squarely on inflation,” he explained. “As long as inflation will remain elevated and the risk [remains] that inflation expectations start to drift higher, I think the Bank of Canada will continue to raise or normalize interest rates.
“Having the housing market correcting, the Bank will pay attention to [that], but I doubt that any development in that sector would prompt the Bank to change course.”

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Squamish Nation signs MOU service deal with Vancouver for 11-tower Senakw development

Nick Laba
Western Investor

The service agreement, designed to provide utilities from the city to the First Nation development, will sit in escrow until details are finalized.
With the traditional, unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) as a backdrop, the First Nation signed a memorandum of understanding with the City of Vancouver for a service agreement, intended to provide utilities to a planned 6,000-unit housing development on reserve land near Burrard Street Bridge.
At a press event on Wednesday (May 25), Squamish council chairperson Khelsilem and Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart penned the deal, which will sit in escrow until details are finalized. The agreement, when completed, should detail how services like electricity, water and sewage will connect to the Sen̓áḵw development.
It also includes significant upgrades to pedestrian, cycling, transit and road improvements in the area, many of which will blend into the surrounding city land.
The timeline of getting shovels in the ground appears to be delayed slightly, with an initial start date of late last year being pushed to sometime later this year. Squamish Nation spokesperson Sxwíxwtn, Wilson Williams said a completion date in 2027 is the current target.
While Stewart and other members of local government are praising the landmark project, there has been pushback from some in the surrounding Kitsilano neighbourhood. Residents in the area have historically resisted tall residential towers. The tallest buildings in the Sen̓áḵw plan reach 56 storeys or higher.
Concerns have also been expressed about a potential service road going into the development.
At Wednesday’s event, Nation spokesperson Syexwáliya, Ann Whonnock reminded the audience that the traditional name of the region is X̱ats’alanexw, the name of a Squamish chief. Before settlers came, the area had been home to the Squamish people for thousands of years, sharing the territory with xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and Səlílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.
And as the parcel in question is reserve land, the development doesn’t have to conform to typical city rules, like a formal public consultation process.
“The truth is that because it’s an on-reserve development, there isn’t a lot of required engagement pieces,” Khelsilem said. “But I think what this means is that there’s actually a lot of opportunity for the Nation to be innovative and take different approaches.” 
He explained that there would be more public outreach, both within and outside the Nation, when more design and development specifics are available.
An example of where the plan breaks from city bylaws is parking requirements. As it stands, the project is intended for a majority car-less community, and won’t provide sufficient vehicle parking for its population.
‘Largest First Nations economic development in Canadian history’
This project is significant for the Nation in many ways, said Williams.
“It will generate billions of dollars for the nation and set us on a path towards economic independence. Moreover, it will provide secure affordable housing for our members who need it most. Finally, the Coast Salish designs and architecture will promote our culture and remind the people that are out there on our shared traditional territories,” he said.
Stewart said signing the agreement demonstrates the ongoing collaboration between Vancouver and the Nation, underlining the city’s commitment to reconciliation.
“The Sen̓áḵw development is a crucial and ambitious step forward in making Vancouver a city for us all,” he said. “I couldn’t be more proud to support such an historic and visionary project – the largest First Nations economic development in Canadian history.”
In a 2021 update, the Nation said it made an agreement with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation for what it called the largest loan in the Crown corporation’s history. Much of the information on project funding has yet to be released. 
Included in the development is 250 homes available to Squamish Nation members at reduced monthly rents in the first two phases of construction. Planners say the project will create a substantial number of jobs to Nation members as well.
The ambitious project officially got underway in December 2019, after a majority of Nation members approved development of 10.5 acres of land to build thousands of housing units.

© 2022 Western Investor

Interest in mortgages from credit unions, private lenders up as rates rise: Brokers

Tara Deschamps
CBC Radio

 A for sale sign is seen in front of a Montreal home, Tuesday, March 17, 2015. The Bank of Montreal is cutting its posted five-year fixed mortgage rate, a move that experts say could spur other banks to slash their rates as well as the spring real estate season begins. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

Canadian home buyers are increasingly considering credit unions and private lenders to secure mortgages as rates rise, brokers say.

They are seeing more Canadians drawn to these lenders as fixed mortgage rates have crept to about four per cent in recent months in many provinces and territories.

Because the qualifying rate on uninsured mortgages under Canada’s stress test is either two percentage points above the contract rate, or 5.25 per cent, whichever is greater, more borrowers are now having to qualify at a higher rate for mortgages from traditional lenders like banks.

However, credit unions and private lenders are often able to offer more competitive rates, even to clients who don’t qualify for mortgages offered by traditional lenders.

“If a client’s looking for a five-year, fixed rate mortgage, they’re now qualifying (with traditional lenders) at say 6 or 6.5 per cent, which really reduces the total amount that they could qualify for,” said Sung Lee, a Toronto mortgage broker.

“With credit unions, they offer more flexibility, where you could qualify at just your five-year contract rate or in some cases, if it’s a variable, like a contract (rate) plus one (per cent).”

Insurance and financial website Ratesdotca says credit unions and private lenders made up about 3.7 per cent of the country’s mortgage business last year and have already handled about 6.7 per cent so far this year.

Credit unions are typically responsible to members instead of shareholders and though they offer similar products to banks, they are not subject to the same federal regulations, including qualifying rate restrictions, allowing them to take on riskier customers.

Housing market slowing

The varying interest comes as the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) said the national average home price was slightly higher than $746,000 in April, up 7.4 per cent from about $695,000 during the same month last year.

However, on a seasonally adjusted basis the national average home price slid by 3.8 per cent to $741,517 last month from $771,125 in March.

CREA attributed much of the slowdown to fixed mortgage rates, which have been on the rise since 2021, but have been more impactful in recent months.

“Everyone’s all worried about the rates … because we’ve been accustomed to really low rates for a long time and probably for the last 10 years they’ve been under four per cent,” said Chantal Driscoll, a Burlington, Ont. mortgage broker with RDM Financial Consultants.

“People are getting nervous, but traditionally mortgages should be between four and six per cent. Those are normal mortgage rates.”

Anytime mortgage rates edge up and qualifying for a mortgage becomes harder, she notices a “trickle down” effect on credit unions and private lenders, but current conditions aren’t pushing interest in these lenders beyond what she usually sees, when the market shifts.

However, she is seeing more interest from people who are not qualifying for mortgages from traditional sources.

“They’ll go to … credit unions or private lenders to qualify a little more than what they’d qualify for with the bank,” said Driscoll.

Most of her clients are still managing to qualify under current conditions or through variable rates, even as they also rise, but Driscoll foresees change.

She believes brokers may be fielding even more requests for alternative mortgages in the future because at least one credit union has upped their requirements so all borrowers have to qualify at two per cent higher than the contract or the benchmark rate, whichever is higher.

Meanwhile, Nick Hill has seen a steady stream of interest around credit unions from his clients — and not just ones who are having trouble qualifying.

“I did two deals for people who work at car dealerships,” said the Toronto broker with G&H Mortgage Group. They qualified for a traditional loan but found better rates through a credit union.

 

©2022 CBC/Radio-Canada. All rights reserved.

Vancouver makes significant changes to building bylaws to address climate crisis

Tiffany Crawford
The Vancouver Sun

Among the changes are that all new multi-family buildings will require cooling systems by 2025 and air filtration to protect residents from intense heat waves and fire smoke pollution.

Vancouver council has voted to make significant changes to building bylaws to address the climate crisis. Photo by DARRYL DYCK /THE CANADIAN PRESS

Vancouver city council has voted to make significant changes to construction bylaws to reduce the use of fossil fuels and require cooling and air filtration in all new large buildings.

The changes are aimed at addressing the climate crisis and meeting targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

City staff predict the new bylaws, which council approved last week, will lead to an annual reduction of 50,000 tonnes of carbon emissions in Vancouver, the equivalent of removing 13,000 gasoline-powered cars from the road.

Under the changes, greenhouse gas emissions in all new multi-family and commercial buildings must be 90 per cent less than under the old 2007 rules. That will be accomplished by requiring electric water heaters and either electric heaters or heat pumps n new construction, said Vancouver city spokesman Neal Wells.

All new multi-family buildings will require cooling systems by 2025 and “best practice” (MERV 13) air filtration to protect residents from increasingly common and intense heat waves and fire smoke pollution. MERV 13 captures 85 per cent of fine particulates from vehicle pollution and fire smoke, said Wells.

 

“I think that the proposals are quite well-crafted in that they strike a good balance between reflecting the urgency of the climate crisis and acknowledging the realities of the property development sector,” said Roberto Pecora, director of programs at the Zero Emissions Building Exchange (Zebx,) a local industry hub that helps developers, builders, architects and designers work toward zero emission buildings.

He said developers and builders working in Vancouver are aware that the city has the most progressive green building regulations in the province and have been able to step up to the requirements as the bylaws are aligned with the plan.

“I don’t see why it would be any different with these upcoming bylaw amendments. We have a very competent development, construction and design community in Metro Vancouver that can adapt to these changes,” said Pecora.

 

The emissions reduction aspects of the proposed changes target space heating and heating water for non-heating applications like showers and washing machines, said Pecora, adding that the bylaws don’t target gas range cooking.

“Nonetheless, using gas for cooking has some serious consequences for indoor air quality in homes,” he said. “A much more modern, safe and efficient way to cook is with an induction cooktop.”

Chris Hill, president of B Collective, a design, build and consulting firm, thinks gas stoves will be out of vogue soon.

“People feel like they need it right now. It’s such an important part of their lifestyle,” he said. “When we are talking about air quality and air filtration though, people are not going to want to burn gas in their house.”

 

He said while more developers are looking at building homes with electric induction stoves, most people remain keen on gas stoves.

“But those with a climate conscience understand and, as they explore induction, quite often they are happy with the results.”

Hill also applauded the city’s move to ensure all new buildings have air filtration and cooling systems, which will include low-income housing, as people on fixed incomes can be more vulnerable to heat waves and pollution.

In what the city says is the first in North America, all new builds will require a reduction of 10 to 20 per cent in so-called embodied carbon building materials, which are the emissions associated with building materials such as concrete, steel and foam insulation.

 

So, for example, Wells said a company could build less underground parking, use different materials or better concrete mixes.

Hill said there is going to be a real push to use less of materials that have a high carbon impact like concrete, replacing them with natural materials like wood, but also taking into account sustainable forestry practice.

Rocky Sethi, COO for Adera Development, agrees but said there needs to be more government support for providing timber as a carbon-sequestering material.

“We would like to see support from the various levels of government, in particular the province, in supporting mass timber construction,” he said.

“We support commercially viable efforts to reduce our industry’s carbon footprint, however with construction costs at an all-time high, supply chain constraints negatively impacting our ability to deliver affordable housing, and a lack of skilled labour in the construction industry, we feel the industry is beyond a tipping point.”

 

Sethi said adding onto this are increasing delays with obtaining approvals and permits in a timely manner that is driving up the cost of timber, leading to higher housing prices at a time when interest rate pressure and inflation is creating challenges for B.C. households.

 

As for existing office and retail buildings that are greater than 100,000 square feet, the city now requires all regulated buildings to have zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, and reduce heat energy use by 70 to 90 per cent by 2040.

Pecora said the initial requirements are relatively light to begin with or are phased in to assist with the transition. For example, the proposal to regulate emissions from existing buildings would only become effective in 2026 and only affect about 50 buildings to start.

 

Reducing heat energy use is cost effective in large office and retail buildings if done when an existing heating system needs replacing and is replaced with some form of heat pump, Wells said. Heating systems are only replaced every 20 to 25 years, and the city estimates that 30 to 40 per cent of large office and retail buildings should make this change by 2030.

Large existing commercial and multi-family buildings will also have to report their annual energy use starting in 2024.

The city is providing $2 million in grants to add heat pumps to existing below-market housing.

In 2021, Zebx did a cost analysis of seven high-performance buildings in B.C., the kind that Vancouver is seeking with its bylaw amendments. Two of the seven came in at 30 per cent under the cost of similar code-minimum buildings being built in the same area at around the same time.

“It’s not a given that high-performance buildings cost more to build,” said Pecora. “I would argue that what’s affecting the cost of new construction more at the moment are labour shortages and supply chain disruptions.”

 

© 2022 Vancouver Sun

Work underway on capital projects across Saskatchewan

Western Investor Staff
Western Investor

Province has pledged to spend $30 billion on infrastructure by 2030

Upgrades to Yorkton Regional High School are among $1.4 billion in capital spending Saskatchewan is funding this year.Good Spirit School Division

Crews across Saskatchewan are mobilizing as the province moves forward with $1.4 billion in capital projects this year.

The projects include $156.6 million for health care, $168.6 million for education, $31 million in post-secondary infrastructure, $479.5 million in transportation infrastructure and $291.8 in government services infrastructure.

The tally also includes $268.6 million for infrastructure projects by local governments.

“Communities throughout the province will see construction crews hard at work on projects funded through this year’s record capital plan investment,” SaskBuilds and Procurement Minister Jim Reiter said. “We are building, expanding and improving the schools, hospitals, long-term care centres, parks and transportation infrastructure that improve quality of life, support economic growth and job creation and make Saskatchewan attractive to private sector investment.”

In Lloydminster, crews from Saskatoon-based Quorex Construction have begun work on a $28.8 million expansion and renovation of Lloydminster Comprehensive High School and a $10 million expansion and upgrade project at Holy Rosary High School. Quorex crews are also at work in Regina, handling construction of a new joint-use facility that will replace Argyle Elementary and Ecole St. Pius X schools.

In Yorkton, crews from Regina-based Westridge Construction Ltd. are upgrading Yorkton Regional High School and replacing the roof.

Crews from Graham Construction are working at the site of Regina’s new urgent care centre, with full construction expected to start this spring and be largely completed early next year.

In Saskatoon, PCL Construction Management Inc., originally founded in Stoughton, is preparing to undertake preliminary site preparation work for an expansion of the remand facility at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre. 

Construction is nearing completion on several projects at parks around the province and will soon be open for the public, including the renovation and redevelopment of the former ski chalet at Buffalo Pound Provincial Park to create a new interpretive centre for visitors. Water system upgrades are nearing completion at Candle Lake Provincial Park.

The province said that two important health care projects are currently in the procurement stage. These include a new general hospital in Weyburn and the expansion and redevelopment of Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert.

More than a dozen projects public and institutional projects are at the planning, design or tendering stages, including a new urgent care centre in Saskatoon, long-term care projects in Grenfell, Estevan, Regina and Watson; replacement of the Yorkton Regional Health Centre; and water and wastewater upgrades at Rowan’s Ravine, Moose Mountain, Saskatchewan Landing, Meadow Lake, Echo Valley, Porcupine Hills Provincial Parks.

The province says its capital plan this year totals a record $3.2 billion, or more than a tenth of the $30 billion it has promised to spend on infrastructure by 2030.

 

© 2022 Western Investor

Cardero Street rental apartment building sells at $715,300 per door

CBRE National Apartment Group
Western Investor

The 26-unit multi-family building, concrete-built with ocean views in Vancouver’s West End, sold for $18.6 million.

CBRE National Apartment Group, Vancouver, for Western Investor (Google street view)

 

Property type: Multi-family rental

Location: 1265 Cardero Street, Vancouver

Number of units: 26

Price: $18.6 million

Date of sale: May 18, 2022

Brokerage: CBRE National Apartment Group, Vancouver

Broker: Lance Coulson

 

© 2022 Western Investor

Kootenay manufactured home park sells $600,000 over assessment

Re/Max Penticton Realty
Western Investor

The 48-pad adult-oriented park, on city services in a prime location in Castlegar, B.C., sold $100K over list price and well above assessment, at $3.6 million

Re/Max Penticton Realty, Penticton, B.C., for Western Investor

Type pf property: Manufactured home park

Location: 1545 Columbia Street, Castlegar, B.C.

Number of pads: 48

Park size: 3,388,968 square feet

Land size in acres: 7.78 acres

Zoning: R-5 Manufactured Home Park

BC Assessed value: $2.98 million

List price: $3.5 million

Sale price: $3.6 million

Date of sale: April 29, 2022

Brokerage:  Re/Max Penticton Realty, Penticton, B.C.

Broker: Vadim Kobasew

 

© 2022 Western Investor

Inflation hits a new high in Canada

Fergal McAlinden
other

April marked another unwanted record for the country’s Consumer Price Index
The inflation rate in Canada hit its highest level for 31 years in April, with the Consumer Price Index rising by 6.8% compared with the same time last year.
New figures from Statistics Canada showed that rate has inched upwards from 6.7% in March as housing costs continued to soar across the country. Shelter costs surged by 7.4% on an annual basis, largely because of higher home heating costs, in the largest annual increase for almost 40 years.
Renters are also feeling the pinch of inflation. The cost of rent spiked in Ontario and British Columbia, spurring an overall increase of 4.5% over April 2021. The average hourly wage increased 3.3% on an annual basis last month, a figure that pales in comparison to price appreciation across the board.
Gasoline prices have increased 36% compared with April 2021, while an increase of nearly 10% in the cost of groceries represented the largest gain for over 40 years.
The news arrives two weeks before the Bank of Canada is due to make its next decision on its trendsetting policy rate, with the central bank having already indicated its intention to act “forcefully,” in the words of Governor Tiff Macklem, to get the inflation crisis under control.
The Bank has already raised its benchmark rate twice this year, following a 0.25% increase with a 50-basis-point hike in its last policy meeting.

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Is Canada’s housing market about to crash?

Fergal McAlinden
other

Some observers are sounding the alarm while others remain calm

 It’s a question on the mind of many mortgage and real estate professionals across the country as interest rates rise and sales activity moderates: Just how cool is Canada’s housing market going to get?

There’s been plenty of unease in recent times about a market that’s been on a sizzling run over the last two years as Canadians seized the opportunities presented by record-low borrowing rates to splurge on property the length and breadth of the country.

A cocktail of factors including rapid home price appreciation, overvaluation and stagnant labour incomes contributed to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC’s) declaration last year that the housing market had been exposed to “high vulnerability” and was now overheated.

Now Oxford Economics has sounded the alarm on the potentially steep downward trajectory of the market, forecasting that home prices across the country will plummet 24% by the middle of 2024.

With home prices set to continue climbing even in the current rising-rate environment, Oxford’s director of Canada Economics Tony Stillo said the housing market would ultimately “reach a breaking point and crash under the weight of its own success before year end.”

Others are more sanguine about the housing market’s prospects in the current economic climate. Justin Havre (pictured top), real estate advisor and team leader of Justin Havre & Associates of RE/MAX First, RE/MAX Canada’s number-one team for closed transactions and productions last year, told Canadian Mortgage Professional that the recent slowdown was a positive development for the market.

Read next: BMO: Strong policy actions required to address inflation

“It’s fair to say that the Canadian housing market has been like a boiling pot of water on a stove for the last two years. It’s way too hot and… needed to put a little bit of calmness in it,” he said.

“With all the stimulus that…  governments have injected into their economies in the last two years during the pandemic, it’s bound to have an impact on the economy and on inflation. So, there’s no surprise to me that the interest rates are going up.”

Inflation has been the “elephant in the room” for well over a year, said Havre, with the Bank of Canada having resolutely stayed the course on keeping its benchmark rate low as the country navigated the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, while rates are likely to rise substantially this year, he said predictions of a 1980s-style inflationary surge to the high teens were probably wide of the mark – and that higher rates could end up helping the market in the long run.

“I don’t think we can really expect anything like that, but we should expect that there are going to be some higher interest rates, which will settle the real estate market down a bit… not a bad thing, because buyers are sometimes having to make their biggest life decision or their biggest purchase in a matter of minutes while they’re inside a home,” he said.

A more balanced market could mean that buyers have better selection and, crucially, more time to make a decision on a home that best fits their needs and wants, according to Havre.

Read next: Canada’s housing market – what’s next?

On the home price issue, a recent RBC Economics report indicated that a “shift” appeared to be taking place as price growth began to moderate, although it stopped short of predicting a similar crash to that forecast by Oxford.

“With the Bank of Canada continuing to hike rates quickly and aggressively, we may have already reached peak prices in Toronto (and will soon be showing signs of prices trending down in other markets),” the report’s author Carrie Freestone noted.

A drop in prices outright in Toronto between March and April marked the first decline for over 13 years, RBC indicated, with Vancouver recording a 1% rise in composite benchmark prices – half the average pace of the previous six months.

As Canada emerges from the pandemic and rates continue their upward journey, Havre anticipated an increasingly stable home price environment, albeit one that would continue to see modest appreciation.

“I do foresee that the real estate market will stabilize more with activity [and] prices may fluctuate a little bit monthly, but year over year I think we’ll continue to see price gains,” he said. “Maybe not to the tune of 40% plus, but I do think there will be moderate price gains.”

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More than 70% of GTA residents support building new homes and roads: BILD

Michelle McNally
Livabl

Creating more residences and infrastructure in the Greater Toronto Area has been a central theme of the affordable housing conversation. New research shows that the majority of people who live in the GTA agree that there is an underlying home shortage problem in the region and that more housing should be built.

According to new public opinion research released by the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), 71 per cent of respondents agree with expanding municipal boundaries to facilitate the construction of more housing at the periphery of GTA municipalities. Seventy-eight per cent of those surveyed said that they agree with the construction of more roads and highways to support residents and growth in the Toronto region.

The research survey was conducted by IPSOS with 1,000 GTA residents in March.

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“It is not a question of choosing between building more homes to accommodate a growing population and protecting the environment,” said Dave Wilkes, president and CEO of BILD, in a press release. “While those opposed to taking the necessary steps to accommodate the GTA’s present and future growth like to present these as stark ‘either-or’ decisions, the reality is that with modern land development, building techniques and regulatory requirements, we know it is possible to balance both.”

The IPSOS survey found that 92 per cent of GTA residents agree that we are in the middle of a housing affordability crisis. Four out of five respondents — 81 per cent — acknowledged that we are also in a housing shortage crisis. An equal percentage of those surveyed agreed that there must be a balance between environmental regulation with the need to build more homes more quickly.

However, the survey results show that a significant portion of residents were still against new housing in some cases. Fifty-five per cent of residents said that they opposed the construction of a high-rise apartment within half a kilometre of their home, while 47 per cent of GTA residents were against the construction of a mid-rise apartment within the same half-kilometre distance of their residence.

“There is almost unanimous agreement that the GTA is suffering from a housing supply and affordability crisis and that adding supply is the solution,” said Wilkes. “This must be done by adding gentle density in existing communities and enabling new, denser, more land-efficient development at the peripheries of GTA municipalities.”

“This research demonstrates to our leaders that the public supports the idea that growth and environmental protection can be balanced,” he added.

Based on the survey results, 44 per cent of those who live in the GTA said that they were aware of the regulatory framework that governs the environmental aspects of building new homes. About a third of GTA respondents — 35 per cent — felt that building a new housing community is bad for the environment.

According to BILD, when these groups were made aware of the regulatory requirements and industry environmental practices for new home construction, more than a third “were less likely to believe building homes harms the environment.” This rose to over half when told about new home energy efficiency.

“There is a clear disconnect between perception and reality,” said Sean Simpson, senior vice president of IPSOS Public Affairs, in the press release. “The majority of GTA residents clearly favour the addition of more housing supply and transportation infrastructure.”

Simpson added that of those who believe that building homes harms the environment, 56 per cent are “not aware of the regulations and practices already in place to protect the environment.”

 

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