The headlines scream the news coast-to-coast almost daily about the fast-rising cost of urban housing in Canada’s major centers. What started in the Vancouver area a few years has now hit Ontario hard. Prices in Toronto have risen 30 per cent in a year, and that pricing bubble now extends well beyond the GTA itself.
We know all this. It’s time to move beyond the finger-pointing at speculators, low interest rates, and buyer panic and instead ask, “What role do residential builders and contractors have to play in resolving the housing supply issue?”
Canadian Contractor spoke last week with Bob de Wit, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association (HAVAN). De Witt referred to the recommendations of a 2017 study by Landcor Data Corporation of building approval processes in the Vancouver region that identifies Best Practices solutions and land use efficiency. Sky-high home prices are not new to Vancouver and other nearby municipalities. They’ve been dealing with it for some time. With the phenomenon now spreading across the country, particularly in Ontario, there is much to be learned from Vancouver’s experience. Many of the problems lie with a mis-match between supply and demand.
Increasing housing options through “gentle densification”
De Wit fully supports the many recommendations of the Landcor report, and in particular the concept of ‘gentle densification’ within existing neighbourhoods through Infill Housing. It’s certainly an issue that cuts to the heart of Ontario’s growing problem. Given the mandate handed down by the province to all municipalities tightening the rein on the instinct for sprawl, and the Greenbelt restriction around the GTA, efficient use of what land is available would seem critically important. Endless expansion into green fields may seem like an easy fix to the housing shortage in some non-GTA areas, however it places a heavy burden on those municipalities to expand expensive infrastructure to support such developments.
Green field development isn’t even an option in major cities, but ‘Infill Housing’ is. Instead of approving high rises or replacing older houses one for one, de Wit supports the approval, even pre-zoning, of duplexes, triplexes, quad plexes and laneway homes. De Witt suggests Infill Housing is “the kind of gentle densification that allows people to have ground level housing at a more reasonable price. I think families would prefer to raise a family with two kids in something ground-oriented rather than a 650 square foot apartment in a high rise.”
“It’s low-hanging fruit for politicians if they pre-zone neighbourhoods to allow this.” Bob De Wit
The Landcor report outlines how gentle densification through Infill Housing can be a win-win-win for builders, home buyers and politicians alike. “Infill Housing options for single family dwellings help to address housing supply and affordability issues …. and support complete liveable communities, while maintaining and enhancing the integrity of existing neighbourhoods. Municipalities who embrace gentle densification versus ‘keeping the status quo’ will benefit from an increase in their economic base from which local schools, businesses, amenities and services can thrive.”
To read the rest of this article, visit Canadian Contractor: Canada’s housing supply crunch cries out for solutions. You can help!
