Real estate industry figures weigh in on Liberal housing plan

Several figures in the real estate industry have weighed in on the Liberal Party’s new housing plan, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled earlier this week.

The Liberals have made housing affordability a key issue in the upcoming federal election, promising to ban blind bidding, prohibit foreigners from buying homes for two years, and introduce a tax-free savings account for first-time home buyers under the age of 40.

However, Ben Young, senior vice president of development at Halifax-based developer Southwest Properties, told The Canadian Press that the Liberals’ plan still doesn’t solve what he believes is the real cause of surging house prices – a lack of housing inventory.

“They're treating the symptom of the problem and not the real problem, which is the supply,” Young told CP. "It's like saying, 'come on in my store it's 100% off, but I don't have any inventory.”

Similarly, David Oikle, president of the Ontario Real Estate Association, said that the plan doesn’t address the “much larger issue” of supply shortages in the housing market.

“The current landscape of bidding wars across Canada’s housing market is emblematic of a much larger issue: there is simply not enough supply to meet demand, leading to multiple offer situations, and higher home prices,” Oikle said in a statement.

Oikle also slammed Trudeau’s plan to ban blind bidding, saying that open auctions can cause prices rise even higher.

“Auction fever creates a three-ring circus on front lawns, as hopeful buyers crowd in front of a home with a live auctioneer, or online, and the bidding begins,” said Oikle. “Far from making homes more affordable, auctions can drive prices higher, and dangerously push buyers to make rushed decisions involving tens of thousands of dollars in just minutes.”

Meanwhile, Davelle Morrison, a broker with Bosley Real Estate in Toronto, criticized Trudeau’s plan to have a two-year moratorium on foreign buying, telling CP that foreigners accounted for less than 5% of homes owned in the Greater Toronto Area.

"We need to stop making foreign buyers the bogeyman and saying that everything is their fault," Morrison told CP. "We have had very few foreigners buying into the market because of COVID-19, and real estate prices have still climbed."

MBN

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