Article content
A radical new law intended to reduce New Zealand’s infamous housing crunch could well be a model for how Canada could curb its ever-skyrocketing real estate prices, according to experts contacted by the National Post.
Real eState
Could New Zealand's radical new housing law help Canada curb its skyrocketing real estate prices? – National Post
New Zealand is currently plagued by a real estate market that is even more unaffordable than Canada’s
Advertisement
Article content
This week, in a rare bipartisan action, the New Zealand government introduced measures to quash “overly restrictive planning rules” that hinder development in urban cores.
New Zealanders may now develop up to 50 per cent of their land — and build up to three storeys — without requiring consent from municipal authorities. The reforms also unleash landowners to build up to three homes per lot in areas that previously restricted those lots to one or two homes.
Advertisement
Article content
While the measures do not mandate development of existing homes, they mean that New Zealanders now have much more freedom to build on their land without butting up against municipal planning laws. A similar law applied to Vancouver and Toronto, for instance, would automatically free builders from the need to seek local approval for a laneway house.
A government-commissioned analysis by Pricewaterhouse Coopers has estimated that the new measures will spur a building boom expected to add between 48,200 and 105,500 new units of housing in New Zealand by the end of the decade.
“I think reforms like this would likely help increase Canadian housing stock quite a bit,” Nathanael Lauster, a housing density researcher at the University of British Columbia, told the Post.
Advertisement
Article content
Lauster helped created the Metro Vancouver Zoning Project , an effort to meticulously document zoning laws in Canada’s third largest city. What the project has revealed is that the vast majority of land in Vancouver is zoned for single family homes, effectively making densification illegal in much of Canada’s most unaffordable real estate market.
In an extensive analysis of New Zealand’s new housing reforms, Lauster called them a “welcome new model” for stripping “exclusionary” powers from the hands of local governments, which disproportionately favour the interests of existing homeowners. “It’s relatively easy for municipal politics to become captured by those most resistant to change and greater inclusion,” he wrote.
Advertisement
Article content
New Zealand’s new measures were supported both by its Labour Party government and its conservative National Party opposition. Tellingly, the policy’s official launch was attended by National Party Leader Judith Collins.
“National supports this policy because it focuses on supply. Rather than making life harder for property owners, this policy tells them that you have the right to build,” Collins told a Tuesday press conference .
The National Party leader also struck out at Kiwis who opposed the law on the grounds that it would strip communities of their “character.” “Our communities lose their character when people can’t afford to own their own home,” she said.
New Zealand is currently plagued by a real estate market that is even more unaffordable than Canada’s. The gap between New Zealand’s average incomes and its average real estate cost is currently among the highest in the OECD .
Advertisement
Article content
Notably, the problem continues to grow despite the fact that New Zealand maintains strict controls on foreign ownership. In 2018, the country banned non-residents from purchasing pre-existing New Zealand real estate, although foreigners are given limited reign to purchase new builds.
Advertisement
Article content
Canada’s already overheated real estate market is on a fast track to match New Zealand for unaffordability. In just the last year, average Canadian home prices soared by an incredible 21.4 per cent .
The singular reason for this is lack of supply. Canada has the lowest number of housing units per capita than any other country in the G7, a ratio that is only getting worse as lacklustre housing development is met with massive population growth.
In Canada, any law to defang municipal zoning laws would need to come from the provinces. With New Zealand having a population of only five million, its national government often makes decisions that would be considered regional issues in Canada.
However, there is strong precedent to show that Canadian provinces have relatively free reign to steamroll municipal laws whenever they want to.
Advertisement
Article content
One of the starkest recent examples was when the province of Ontario abruptly cut the size of Toronto City Council in half.
While the City of Toronto took the issue to court framing it as an undemocratic coup, just this month the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Ontario acted constitutionally.
In the recent Canadian federal election, all three major parties debuted housing plans that mostly skirted around the issue of municipal barriers to development. The Conservatives proposed tying federal transit funding to a city’s willingness to densify, but there were no blunt New Zealand-style promises to override onerous local zoning laws
“If there was a blanket up-zoning of land in Canadian metropolitan areas, it would lead to an increase in the housing stock,” said Steve Lafleur, an analyst specializing in housing affordability at the Fraser Institute.
The libertarian-minded Fraser Institute isn’t one to advocate stricter government control of an economic sector, and Lafleur said that provincial “micromanaging” of local zoning would not be ideal. Nevertheless, he said, “given immense demand for housing, it is impossible to believe that there would not be a boom … if denser housing were allowed.”
Advertisement
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
Continue Reading
TORONTO – The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says home sales in October surged as buyers continued moving off the sidelines amid lower interest rates.
The board said 6,658 homes changed hands last month in the Greater Toronto Area, up 44.4 per cent compared with 4,611 in the same month last year. Sales were up 14 per cent from September on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The average selling price was up 1.1 per cent compared with a year earlier at $1,135,215. The composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was down 3.3 per cent year-over-year.
“While we are still early in the Bank of Canada’s rate cutting cycle, it definitely does appear that an increasing number of buyers moved off the sidelines and back into the marketplace in October,” said TRREB president Jennifer Pearce in a news release.
“The positive affordability picture brought about by lower borrowing costs and relatively flat home prices prompted this improvement in market activity.”
The Bank of Canada has slashed its key interest rate four times since June, including a half-percentage point cut on Oct. 23. The rate now stands at 3.75 per cent, down from the high of five per cent that deterred many would-be buyers from the housing market.
New listings last month totalled 15,328, up 4.3 per cent from a year earlier.
In the City of Toronto, there were 2,509 sales last month, a 37.6 per cent jump from October 2023. Throughout the rest of the GTA, home sales rose 48.9 per cent to 4,149.
The sales uptick is encouraging, said Cameron Forbes, general manager and broker for Re/Max Realtron Realty Inc., who added the figures for October were stronger than he anticipated.
“I thought they’d be up for sure, but not necessarily that much,” said Forbes.
“Obviously, the 50 basis points was certainly a great move in the right direction. I just thought it would take more to get things going.”
He said it shows confidence in the market is returning faster than expected, especially among existing homeowners looking for a new property.
“The average consumer who’s employed and may have been able to get some increases in their wages over the last little bit to make up some ground with inflation, I think they’re confident, so they’re looking in the market.
“The conditions are nice because you’ve got a little more time, you’ve got more choice, you’ve got fewer other buyers to compete against.”
All property types saw more sales in October compared with a year ago throughout the GTA.
Townhouses led the surge with 56.8 per cent more sales, followed by detached homes at 46.6 per cent and semi-detached homes at 44 per cent. There were 33.4 per cent more condos that changed hands year-over-year.
“Market conditions did tighten in October, but there is still a lot of inventory and therefore choice for homebuyers,” said TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer.
“This choice will keep home price growth moderate over the next few months. However, as inventory is absorbed and home construction continues to lag population growth, selling price growth will accelerate, likely as we move through the spring of 2025.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.
Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.
Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.
The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.
Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.
They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.
The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.
Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.
Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500
Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438
Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103
Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359
Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent
How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
News2 minutes ago
Spy service officer denies threatening Montreal man who was later imprisoned in Sudan
News8 minutes ago
Vancouver officer sexually assaulted colleague, but police group chat targeted victim
News9 minutes ago
Beetles from B.C. settling in Nova Scotia, taking up the fight to rescue hemlocks
Investment5 years ago
dynaCERT Inc. Invites You to Join Us at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference | INN – Investing News Network
Sports5 years ago
AP source: Bears acquiring quarterback Nick Foles from Jaguars – Sportsnet.ca
Media1 year ago
12 Bizarre Things People Did Just To Make Social Media Content
-
News16 hours agoChrystia Freeland says carbon rebate for small businesses will be tax-free
-
News16 hours ago
FACT FOCUS: Election officials knock down Starlink vote rigging conspiracy theories
-
News16 hours ago
Nova Scotia election promise tracker: What has been promised by three main parties?
-
News16 hours ago
Former B.C. premier John Horgan, who connected with people, dies at 65
-
News16 hours ago
Suncor Energy earnings rise to $2.02 billion in third quarter
-
News16 hours ago
Swearing-in ceremonies at B.C. legislature mark start of new political season
-
News16 hours ago
New Brunswick premier confirms her Liberal government will draft carbon pricing plan
-
News16 hours ago
B.C. teen with bird flu is in critical care, infection source unknown: health officer
