Unaccommodating: Halton Region’s Non-Affordable Housing
Accommodation in Halton is becoming increasingly unaccommodating for residents as home prices continue to rise and inventory increasingly diminishes. If you’re struggling to buy a house in Halton, you’re not alone; here’s why.
According to a recent report by the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), active listings in the GTA are down by 9.1 per cent year-over-year. This reflects tightening market conditions where buyers are dealing with a challenging market of low inventory and more rigorous borrowing criteria.
Ultimately, a lack of housing supply is affecting this issue more than anything else. With the number of GTA households increasing by 40,000 to 50,000 each year, not enough homes are being constructed to meet this demand.
This is specifically an issue in the city of Oakville, where a recent news release from Royal LePage Real Estate Services has revealed that low inventory is directly leading to high prices.
In this undersupplied marketplace, we’re seeing an acceleration of home price growth. In the GTA, the aggregate price of a home increased by 2.6 per cent year-over-year to $841,729 in the second quarter of 2019.
Policy-makers have identified this issue and are working to develop solutions.
Recently, Toronto Mayor John Tory presented a motion to diversify the city’s housing types. His goal is to transform traditional single-family neighbourhoods by expanding housing options for residents. This will be done by reviewing planning permissions in low-density areas.
The provincial government has also made concrete steps toward addressing Ontario’s affordability housing crisis. The Community Housing Renewal Strategy works to expand affordable housing within the province while streamlining its accessibility. The government will work in partnership with affordable housing providers (like Habitat HM) to repair and increase the supply of affordable housing. They will also increase efficiency in the construction process to better support these housing providers, as well as providing assistance to those seeking affordable accommodation.
At a federal level, the National Housing Strategy is its ambitious plan to tackle this crisis. As a 10-year, $55 billion program, it aims to create 125,000 new housing units, repair more than 300,000 units and remove more than half a million families from housing need.
Habitat HM recognizes how unaccommodating accommodation within our area is becoming. With housing supply decreasing and home prices increasing, it’s housing providers like us who need to lead the way in expanding the supply of affordable housing. We look forward to continue working with all levels of government in implementing solutions to our affordable housing crisis.
With files from: The Toronto Star and In Halton.
Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga is a proud member of our national organization Habitat Canada and is one of 54 local Habitat affiliates across our country. Habitat for Humanity brings communities together to help families build strength, stability, and independence through affordable homeownership. We provide a solid foundation for better, healthier lives in Canada and around the world. You can find out more about Habitat Canada at habitat.ca.
