What a few weeks it has been for news.
Municipal elections
The canceling of Ye. The artistic formerly know as Kanye West.
England appointing a new prime minister. Again!
And another increase of interest rates.
So you would be forgiven if you missed two announcements pertaining to real estate.
1) The Ontario governments announcement of “More Homes built faster act”. It is refreshing to have an act saying exactly what is its purpose.
2) The effective ban on foreign home ownership by the Canadian government for 2 years.
Personally the ban on foreign buyers will do very little in making homes more affordable or increase supply. It has already been proven that they make up less than 3% of buyers.
However, it makes for a great story line and scape goat for our current real estate dilemma.
Therefore, I will like to focus on the “More Homes built faster act”.
The main goal of the act. Build 1.5 million homes in 10 years. I am not going to say if this is feasible but there is a massive shortage of affordable housing in Ontario.
Even as an evil realtor who happens to be the root cause of sky rocketing house prices and rents. Paying $2400 per month for a 1 bedroom unit is crazy and shows that there is truly a problem.
Here are a few more highlights of the act:
a)The overriding of municipal zoning laws to allow more “missing middle” homes to be built without further planning approvals.
Under the legislation, up to three units will be allowed on a single residential lot without any bylaw amendments or municipal permissions.
An example provided by the government shows a basement apartment and garden or laneway house could be built on a property and rented out to tenants. Duplexes and triplexes could also be built on single residential lots, regardless of municipal zoning laws.
The legislation would make it so municipalities can’t set restrictions on unit sizes or require more than one parking space per unit.
b) Increasing the Non-Resident Speculation Tax rate from 20 per cent to 25 per cent to deter non-resident investors from speculating on the province’s housing market and help make home ownership more attainable for Ontario residents.
c) Building more density near transit, unlocking innovative approaches to design and construction, and removing red tape to get shovels in the ground faster.
The big win in the act:
The overriding of municipal zoning laws.
We constantly scream and comment about wanting affordable housing.
The problem.
No one seems to want it in their back yard (NYIMB)
This new legislation will open up the ability to build in parts of the city where councillors have fought tooth and nail.
Done on behalf of a small number of residents to keep neighbourhoods looking the same way it did since1895.
You have already heard arguments from councillors and residents with multiple reason why this is not good for the city.
The city is old and cannot handle the waste from properties having multiple units.
Not enough parking spots
Decrease in property values
Ironically I recently returned from NYC which is a much older city and stayed with a friend who lives in a 4 unit brownstone.
Guess what?
It is not a problem……
