Money for home supply, a ban on foreign buyers — we asked experts if and how this will make homes more affordable in Toronto.
There is no silver bullet for Canada’s housing woes, federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland cautioned while delivering the federal budget this week — a road map that includes an array of pitches to build more homes, stifle flippers, and overhaul housing programs that have faced scrutiny.
Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper says the injection of supply will help, particularly as the budget’s intent aligns with that of the Ontario government and the City of Toronto. The problem, he said, is the tidal wave of demand — millennials are aging out of their condos to raise their families and a record 400,000 immigrants landed last year.
The federal government’s two-year ban on foreign home buying made for great budget headlines, but it won’t contribute to housing affordability in Canada and certainly not in the Toronto region, said Royal LePage’s Soper. In Vancouver, which has a more concentrated population, it could mean a decrease in competition for extravagant homes among the super rich. But it will have less impact in Ontario, he said.
The step, which impacts residential properties sold on or after Jan. 1 next year, would see individuals paying “full taxation on their profits as business income,” for properties held for less than a year The measure would see Ottawa reaping an additional $15 million a year. John Pasalis, president of Realosophy Realty, a Toronto real estate brokerage that uses data analysis to provide advice to residential real estate purchasers, investors and sellers, holds similar doubts about the policy.
Also on the horizon: a strategy that tackles the specific challenges faced by Indigenous households in cities such as Toronto.
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