IN THIS ISSUE

🎩 Homes Don’t Just Happen

👏 This edition’s good news in housing

• Vaughan DCCs slashed

• MP wants to define affordability

• Gas heating stays banned

• 500+ affordable homes coming in TO

🧩 More from Studenthaus

🗂 Rental resources

TOP STORY

🤔 The cost of affordability

Remember Homes Don’t Just Happen? They made a 5 minute video this summer that told the story of why new home construction doesn’t happen magically.

They’re back. The newest video (linked above) outlines roadblocks to reaching 2004 home prices, aka what Canada considers affordability. The video illustrates the large stack of inputs that drive housing costs.

What are the layers that contribute to the price of housing?

• Hard costs (land, materials, & labour)

• Soft costs (planning, architecture, permitting)

• Marketing and realty

• Finance costs (loans and financing)

• Government fees and taxes

• Profit margin

In markets like Toronto and Vancouver, even if there was no profit margin and land was free, home prices would still be far above the desired affordability level.

What gives?

At some point, a decision has to be made. If removing profit margins and land costs (often realized in true public sector housing development) still don’t give us the affordability we want, other levers need to be pulled.

On their own, none of these layers will be enough to act as the solution.

A combination of increased supply, fewer development fees, faster approvals, cheaper financing, and more government subsidies might be enough to move the needle, but right now, we’re not doing enough.

One thing’s for sure — it will cost $1 trillion to reach affordable levels of housing prices, and the public sector can’t put that much money in on its own.

Fixing Canada’s housing crisis requires coordination between the government and the private sector to deliver homes for residents of all ages and income levels.

👏 Good news in housing

City of Vaughan halves DCC’s

The Greater Toronto municipality has been nationally praised for its move to dramatically reduce it’s Development Cost Charges, cited by many as a key reason for challenges with new home construction. Since 1999, the City of Toronto’s DCC’s are up 6,000% (yes, you read that right). Keep reading…

Defining what affordable housing really means

Kitchener MP Mike Morrice references calls from housing researchers for a consistent definition of what affordable housing really looks like. According to the motion, there are six different definitions of affordability in Canada’s housing programs. Keep reading…

Gas heating stays banned in new Vancouver builds

Vancouver’s City Council upheld their ban of gas heating in new housing. This was a controversial decision, but keeps the City on a path to reducing its ‘largest source of carbon pollution’ over the coming years. This decision does not seem as though it will slow down new housing construction in the region. Keep reading…

Groundbreaking for 520 affordable rentals in Toronto

CreateTO, the City of Toronto, and private sector partners broke ground on a 1,484-unit development by Wilson TTC Station. The project ranges from one- to three-bedroom units and will include a childcare centre and a park. The first occupancy is expected in 2029. Keep reading…

🧩 More from Studenthaus

🗂 Rental resources

Whether it’s your first time living on your own or you’ve been renting for years, this is the time of year that lots of young people are getting settled in new places, which can involve dealing with a new landlord.

Is your landlord illegally entering your unit, trying to change your agreement without your consent, or unreasonably preventing you from having overnight guests?

If so, and you can’t quite figure out how to word a message to your landlord, check out the list of template letters from BC’s Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre to help you out.

There’s even a template roommate agreement.

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