PCs Call On Liberals To Address Housing Affordability

Tuesday, 11 April 2017 07:07

The Ontario PC party is voicing serious concerns over the lack of affordable housing in Ontario.

The leader of the Ontario PC party along with the PC Critic for Municipal Affairs and Oxford MPP have asked the Liberals to address the housing affordability crisis in Ontario.

Patrick Brown and Ernie Hardeman held a press conference yesterday where they outlined things they would like to see in the upcoming budget. Hardeman tells Heart FM locally the average price of homes was up nearly 25 percent last month and it is making it nearly impossible for first time home buyers.

"Many young people in Ontario are seeing their dream of home ownership moving further and further out of reach. This used to be a problem that you heard about only in Toronto, but now it is occurring throughout the GTA, in Kitchener-Waterloo, and we are seeing prices increase dramatically here in Oxford."

Woodstock-Ingersoll & District Real Estate Board reported that the average price of homes sold in March 2017 was $338,006, which is a 20.2% increase from March 2016. Tillsonburg District Real Estate Board stated that the average price of homes sold in March 2017 was a record $319,492, up 24.9% from March 2016. Both boards reported significantly lower supply.

Brown and Hardeman announced a list of items they want to see included in the upcoming budget during the press conference:

- A commitment to address supply, including reducing the red tape and regulatory burden, which both limits the supply of new housing, and increases carrying costs which are passed on to consumers

- A commitment to addressing demand, including collecting data on speculative vacancies

- A commitment to review the government portfolio immediately to determine how many vacant residential properties the government owns in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area

- The establishment of a panel of industry experts – including professional planners, builders, mortgage professionals, realtors and municipal representatives to develop both short and long-term solutions to address Ontario’s housing challenge.

Hardeman does admit there is no quick fix to this current housing market.

"The housing sector is complex and there is no one single action that will fix Ontario’s affordability challenges. That is why we need to create a panel which includes the people who plan the houses, the people who build them, and the people who live in them to develop an evidence-based comprehensive plan."