New Report Shows Federal Housing Plan Misses The Mark

OTTAWA, ON, April 21, 2022 /CNW/ -- A new report published by the Consumer Choice Center, an international consumer and regulatory watchdog, highlights how the federal government's housing plan misses the mark..

Build Now: Evaluating Federal Housing Policy, a new report published by the Consumer Choice Center's David Clement and Yael Ossowski outlines how many of the federal government's policy proposals fail to adequately address the issue of chronic undersupply.

Average home price inflation, year-over-year, from January 2022

Canada is facing a gross housing shortfall, and that shortfall is causing record prices hikes for both buyers and renters. Unfortunately, this shortfall has worsened over time. In 2016, Canada had 427 housing units per 1000 people. In 2020, that number actually decreased to 426 units per 1000 people, and in 2022 it fell to 424 units per 1000 people. Among the G7, Canada has the lowest average housing supply per capita, which places the country behind the United States and the United Kingdom. France, by comparison, leads the G7 at 540 units per 1,000..

Key facts from the report include:

• A ban on blind bidding does nothing to address the issue of supply, has been shown to have no impact on reducing prices, and would limit the ability for sellers to choose how they want to sell their home.
• Creating a new tax-free savings account and doubling the First Time Home Buyers Credit will help consumers save, but leave supply unaddressed.
• The only supply side policy the federal government has announced is its earmark for communities that grow at a quicker pace than the historical average. The government's own estimate forecasts that this could result in 100,000 new homes by 2025, but the problem is that Ontario alone needs another 650,000 new homes just to get to the national average.
• Ottawa's housing plan does very little to tackle the root cause of the housing crisis, which is exclusionary zoning.

"Prices for buyers and renters are becoming increasingly unaffordable, to the point where an entire generation of Canadians may never be able to buy a home," said David Clement, the CCC's Toronto based North American Affairs Manager. "Rather than enacting policies that won't substantially increase the housing stock in any way, Ottawa should shift course and make zoning reform its key housing priority. That is what will ultimately cure Canada's housing woes."

Find the full report here: https://consumerchoicecenter.org/build-now-evaluating-federal-housing-policy/

SOURCE CONSUMER CHOICE CENTER

Media Contact: David Clement; [phone]; [email protected]