Ontario budget shows lower projections for new home construction
Projections in Ontario's budget for housing starts show the province's target to build 1.5 million homes in 10 years slipping further out of reach with each passing year.
Nearly 100,000 homes were built in the province in 2022, the first year counting toward the goal, but the forecast shows the number of housing starts in the next few years struggling to crack 80,000 annually.
The projections are revised downward from what was expected in last year's budget, including an estimate of 79,300 homes built in 2024, down from the 87,300 expected for 2024 at this time last year.
Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy says those private-sector forecasts reflect the economic environment, in which rising interest rates are hampering building.
He says the numbers don't reflect some of the government's recent steps to spur new home construction, including a law that, in part, freezes, reduces and exempts fees developers pay on certain builds such as affordable housing.
Bethlenfalvy says nearly all of Ontario's municipalities have adopted housing targets set for them by the province, so the government will continue to work with cities, the private sector and others to build homes.
Richard Lyall, president of the residential builders' group RESCON, said he is pleased to see that the government is putting $75 million over the next three years to the Skills Development Fund and $25 million to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, in part to increase skilled trade immigration.
“With a massive skilled trades shortage looming, training the next generation of workers to build those houses is equally important (as a commitment to meeting the 1.5 million target),” he said in a written statement.
Tim Hudak, CEO of the Ontario Real Estate Association and former Progressive Conservative leader, said despite the government's moves to boost housing supply, rising interest rates are dampening growth, so the province should redouble its efforts.
“The city of Toronto recently took steps to prioritize ending exclusionary zoning to build housing, leveraging public lands to increase housing supply, and supporting the development of more rentals,” he wrote in a statement.
“These are the types of decisions that the Ontario Government must encourage in other cities and communities across the province if we want to solve the housing affordability crisis.”
Ontario should also consider expediting the use of underutilized provincial properties for housing, as well as introducing stronger rules to intensify around transit hubs, he said.
The effects of rising interest rates hit the housing market hard last year, with average home resale prices in January of this year down 21.3 per cent from their February 2022 peak, and the number of home resales was down 43.4 per cent, the budget said. But housing market activity is expected to start stabilizing.
The number of home resales is expected to decline by nearly nine per cent in 2023, though they are expected to rebound 21 per cent the next year before returning to more consistent levels, the government said in the budget.
Average home prices are expected to decline 9.7 per cent this year, before rising 2.2 per cent in 2024 and continuing to go up in the two years after that, the budget said.
Luca Bucci, the CEO of the Ontario Home Builders' Association - and a former chief of staff to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark - said the budget takes important steps to accelerate the delivery of housing.
“Making it easier to get into skilled trades and investing in crucial highway infrastructure will help make it possible for awaiting families to get the keys to their new home sooner and increase the volume and variety of housing options our province needs,” he said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.