—
Owner of Calgary awning, screen and shutter retailer Awnings And More Jason Smith says he agrees with the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) that the Canadian federal government needs to make affordable housing a priority in the country.
Smith says he shares the CHBA’s concern that young Canadians are facing increasing barriers to home ownership and governments don’t appear to be doing enough to help them overcome those barriers.
Last month, the CHBA met with members of Members of Parliament in Ottawa to discuss housing and much of the talk was about the results of a survey conducted by the Earnscliffe Strategy Group in April 2018. The survey polled more than 1,500 people across the country and found:
⅔ of Canadians believe governments play an important role in helping people become homeowners.
⅔ of Canadians believe young or new Canadians should be allowed more flexibility to enter the housing market.
Only 10% of Canadians think governments are doing a good job at making housing more affordable.
The majority of respondents give all three levels of government received a “poor” rating when it comes to helping Canadians afford homes.
¾ of Canadians believe anyone identifying as middle class should be able to be a homeowner.
The rate of homeownership in Canada is 67.9 percent, and falling.
⅘ of renters want to be homeowners, but more than half feel that is impossible.
76% of respondents think in the near future only the rich will be able to own a home in an area where they want to live.
More than 80% of people polled see the hurdles of becoming a homeowner as a potential failing of the country’s current socio-economic system.
“CHBA’s mission is to support members’ ability to meet the aspirations of Canadians for housing affordability, quality and choice,” CHBA’s CEO Kevin Lee was quoted as saying. “CHBA has been warning governments about deteriorating affordability for years—this year we polled Canadians and it is clear they are just as concerned.”
Smith shares those concerns, especially being a father who wants his children to have the same opportunities for homeownership as he does.
“Canadians have a right to be concerned about affordable housing,” Smith says. “The dream of one day owning a home has turned into a nightmare for many who just don’t feel like they will ever be able to do it. The housing markets in Vancouver and Toronto are prohibitively expensive and things aren’t much better here in Alberta. Governments of all levels need to put housing in this country at the top of their respective priority lists. The CHBA has provided them with a list of factors that drive up housing prices that they could have some sway over and federal, provincial and municipal governments should all take heed of them.”
The list of factors that cause high housing prices the CHBA provided to the federal government during its meeting last month includes:
Lack of serviced land available due to zoning restrictions
Inefficient government processes that delay projects and increase costs
Development taxes that can be as high as 25% of a house’s selling price
A lag in infrastructure construction limiting access to serviced land
Increasing stringency of building codes and standards driving up costs
Renters being unable to afford homeownership and staying in rental units, driving up demand and price for those units while keeping supply stagnant
Release ID: 356024