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We are having the same problems here. A lot of the issues here have resulted from the imbalances from the pandemic with the borders being basically closed for nearly two years. So we had negative immigration as temporary workers and foreign students had to head home. Then last year a record influx, mostly students, which has put great pressure on housing.
Queues of people inspecting anything available to rent are in the media every day. Sydney is second or third most unaffordable city in the world to buy, similar to Vancouver.
What is happening is that the number of visas for students has been cut and also the ability of students to transfer to more permanent visas. They have also clamped down on dodgy qualifications. So the number coming in should be halved by 2025.
Another development is that our state government is trying to overturn the power of the local councils to stop medium density housing near railway stations. Problem is, a lot of these areas are heritage areas so all hell has broken loose. And to complicate things, apartment blocks which are older often have concrete cancer problems which can be very expensive to fix. But quite a few of the new high rise blocks have been found to have defects.
No idea where it will all end but it seems this housing crisis is happening in many parts of the world.
Do you think that’s due to public housing there?
I just don't know. UK houses are also the smallest in Europe. https://www.theguardian.com/money/20...shrinking-home Are some of these things related to being on an island? All I know is housing is far from being only a Canadian problem. Houses in the US and Canada are also bigger than they need to be.
It’s the good old supply and demand. No need to question why the prices are so high. The supply is not following the demand, that’s why. Now what’s the reason for Canada being so much slow for building new housing? There may be multiple factors but that should be the main focus. Build, build, build.
It’s the good old supply and demand. No need to question why the prices are so high. The supply is not following the demand, that’s why. Now what’s the reason for Canada being so much slow for building new housing? There may be multiple factors but that should be the main focus. Build, build, build.
It’s the good old supply and demand. No need to question why the prices are so high. The supply is not following the demand, that’s why. Now what’s the reason for Canada being so much slow for building new housing? There may be multiple factors but that should be the main focus. Build, build, build.
I imagine some of the reasons include strict regulations and red tape. Not to mention the current costs of building materials, plus a lack of blue collar workers, carpinters etc. We are in a bad spot.
Canada has no housing crisis, if you want to live in Peace River, AB, or Kapuskasing, ON. If you don't, then you're sunk.
You can get a very nice 3-bedroom house in Peace River from $400,000. If you want a condo, then you go from $40K. Thing is, it's Peace River. Who the hell wants to live there?
And that's the problem with the federal government: it's not telling refugees/immigrants where they must go. They all want to live in Toronto and area, and okay, the federal government allows them to live in Toronto, and then complains because they don't all fit in Toronto. And there's the "oh, no, housing is so expensive" stuff.
The solution is simple. When immigrants come in, "You, you and, you--you're going to Peace River, Alberta. No, I don't care where any so-called relatives are; you're going to Peace River, Alberta. Your relatives are in Bramalea? Gee, that's too damn bad. Oh and you, you, and you--you're going to Kapuskasing, Ontario. Any questions?
Tell them where they are going to go in Canada; don't give them a choice. They're lucky that we Canadians let them into Canada at all; if they b*tch, moan and complain, remind them that this is our country and we make the rules, and deport them if they complain too much. That is our right as Canada and Canadians.
But are there any jobs in the remote areas? Our problem is that the universities where most of our incoming students attend are overwhelmingly located in the main cities. Where most work is and where people need to settle.
I would have thought that Canada would be similar in eg flying people thousands of kilometres at times, to access medical care. So the most in demand occupation in the country is that of registered nurses. But the majority are needed in the cities.Where housing is the most expensive.
Also, I think a lot of newcomers aren’t in a financial position to buy cars. So, access to public transportation between home and job is required. I took rapid transportation for granted when i lived in Montreal, Toronto and Calgary. In Winnipeg, the only public transportation is by bus and some routes aren’t available on Sundays.
The money already exists. There are plenty of people who could afford to build new housing under the right circumstances, but now they don’t have enough incentives to do that.
The government is also part of the problem so I wouldn’t expect it to be the solution alone. But the government could be useful by promoting the right incentives. Subsidizing taxes for new constructions in the first years could be a great incentive (we taxpayers would have to pay for that, of course). Dropping some old unnecessary ‘NIMBY’ restrictions in urban areas would also be a great incentive. Measures to increase the number of construction workers would be needed. These actions would increase the supply. To bring the demand into balance, the influx of new immigrants can be reduced, especially of those who are not coming to work.
The government can also build its own housing to accommodate people who are deeply in need, as a secondary measure. It would be a failure to rely exclusively on the government to provide housing even for middle class working people.
After a few years of measures to normalize supply and demand back to a reasonable balance, the prices would go down. It’s as simple as it sounds.
Now what’s really happening: people move in millions to the same places, the population explodes, restrictions limit the number of new constructions because people still want their neighbourhoods to look the same as 50 years ago, the prices of course skyrocket and then, how predictable, people start claiming for rent control and free housing.
Telling immigrants, specially high skill immigrants they have to go to an isolated place won't work. They have options and will just go to another country. That is already a problem now. Even if you force refugees to go to these isolated places once they become citizens you can't force people to stay there. People want to go where there are more jobs, better services etc etc.
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