Ontario rejects Toronto's affordable housing plan after REIT push back
Ontario has scrapped Toronto’s proposed affordable housing requirements for nearly 70 redevelopment sites across the city, replacing mandatory quotas with non-binding language after pressure from major landowners, including several real estate investment trusts (REITs). The province’s decision came in late January, just ahead of Ontario’s 2025 election call, more than a year after Toronto city council submitted amendments to convert parcels of former employment land for residential use. The city’s original proposal included affordability mandates requiring a percentage of new units to be priced below market rates for at least 99 years. However, the Ford government’s final approval changed the requirement to a suggestion, stating that affordable housing was merely “encouraged. ”According to documents reviewed by the Toronto Star, at least three REITs lobbied against the affordability conditions, warning the rules could stifle development or render projects financially unviable. “During a housing crisis, this dangerous disincentive acts directly contrary to the provincial and municipal mandate to bring housing to market faster,” wrote lawyers for CT REIT, which owns land at 4630 Sheppard Ave. E.!!!
Read Next
Federal government’s ‘affordable housing’ strategy doomed without strong income growth
<p></p><p>In a recent media scrum, the Carney government’s new federal housing minister Gregor Robertson—former mayor of Vancouver—was asked: “Should home prices go down?” His response: “No, I think that we need to deliver more supply, make sure the market is stable. We need to be delivering more affordable housing.” Robertson’s response raises a follow-up question: what does the Carney government mean when it promises “affordable housing”?Rising house prices are nothing new. The sticker price for the average Canadian home has increased in most years, barring periods such as the 2008–09 Global Financial Crisis. And house prices aren’t expected to fall anytime soon; forecasts point to continued house price growth. But for homebuyers, the key issue isn’t that prices are increasing; it's whether they’re rising faster than incomes. By that measure, housing in Canada has become much less affordable in recent years. Consider Minister Robertson’s tenure as Vancouver mayor from 2008 to 2018. During that time, the price of a typical single- or semi-detached Vancouver home grew from $690,000 to $1,980,000—a 187 per cent increase. Meanwhile, the after-tax income of a typical Vancouver family rose by just 15 per cent. Today, the typical single- or semi-detached home in Vancouver costs $2,380,000. Vancouver’s housing market is somewhat unique, but strong price increases reflect a broader national trend: home prices have risen dramatically even as income growth has stagnated, largely because housing demand—driven by immigration-fuelled population growth—continues to far exceed new housing construction.!!</p>
Toronto's luxury home market records double-digit growth as wave of high-end buyers flex purchasing power amid more favourable outlook, says RE/MAX
<p></p><p>TORONTO, Jan. 8, 2025 /CNW/ -- The Greater Toronto Area's (GTA) luxury housing market shifted into high gear in the final quarter of 2024, with sales over $3 million climbing more than 40 per cent ahead of year-ago levels for the same period. Just over 360 freehold and condominium properties sold in Q4 2024, up from the 259 sales reported in Q4 2023, according to an analysis by RE/MAX Canada. "The impact of the first and second 50-basis-point rate cuts by the Bank of Canada radiated throughout the GTA in the fourth quarter, jumpstarting demand for high-end properties both within the city and suburbs," says RE/MAX Canada President Christopher Alexander. "We've been expecting a surge in top-tier sales activity as the economic climate and corresponding pause in buying intentions prompted a build-up in pent-up demand. The fourth quarter did not disappoint."yes</p>
Luxury home sales drop to decade low
Luxury home buyers stepped back from the market in April, driving pending sales down 9.9% compared to the same month last year—the steepest decline since August 2023 and the lowest April level since 2014. The pullback occurred despite luxury home prices reaching near-record levels. The typical luxury home sold for $1,348,065 in April, marking a 6.5% increase from the previous year, though slightly below March’s record high. Non-luxury homes, by comparison, saw more modest price growth of 4.1% to a median of $374,598.