CHBA message to government: Unlock the door

BILD Calgary held its annual economic forecast dinner on January 15, with literally hundreds of movers and shakers from the local land development and home building industry on hand to officially ring in a New Year that they hope will bring an improved housing market.

Stefanie Coleman, president and owner of Pretty Smart Homes in St. Thomas, Ontario, and current president of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA), the national umbrella organization to which BILD Calgary belongs, spoke passionately at the event. She cited affordability and the role of governments in determining who can buy a home and who cannot as the issues that need to be addressed the most.

According to Coleman, affordability is the top issue the CHBA works on at the local, provincial and national levels. However, she says, affordability does not just refer to the literal price of a home.

“We’re talking about how the actions of all levels of government can impact whether Canadians have a fair shot at owning a home or not. From mortgage rules to development charges, regulatory delays and lack of supply, there are many policy issues impacting affordability. And here in the West, policy around resource development continues to have a very big impact on broader economic conditions, something that directly impacts everyone in our industry.”

At the national level, she says, affordability is impacted by rules around mortgage financing that determines who has access to a mortgage. At the provincial level, everything from building codes to taxation to land use regulations affect the builder and ultimately consumer cost. Locally, she points to permitting processes and new home development taxes as having an impact.

Two key recommendations were the return of 30-year amortization periods for insured mortgages for first-time buyers, to adjustments to the current mortgage stress test, to the need for better intergovernmental cooperation to increase housing supply.

“Given that housing affordability was one of the very few areas where all three national parties agreed that action was needed, CHBA’s advocacy work will continue to focus on needed affordability measures as we talk with all the national parties in Ottawa. We’re already seeing results.

She says the CHBA is also advocating for a review of the mortgage stress test to make it more dynamic, with input from financial agencies.

“And, of course, it is not just about the stress test. We have been very successful on many fronts. In March we were successful in having the government increase the maximum that can be withdrawn from RRSPs for a first home to $35,000 from $25,000. And while we continue to push for 30-year mortgages for first-time buyers, a measure that was taken up by both the Conservatives and the NDP during the campaign, the Liberals also responded during the campaign by expanding their alternative approach First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, which allows households with less than $120,000 in annual income to apply for a shared-equity loan from CMHC to facilitate access to homeownership."

There’s plenty more work to be done, she says, but “by working together, we are making a real difference.”

Better late than never

It may be a few weeks past New Year’s Eve, but the 2019 year-end housing start numbers from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) certainly are good reasons to celebrate. Thanks almost entirely to a huge month of December, 2019’s housing start totals ended up outpacing 2018 numbers by more than 900 homes for an increase of just under eight per cent.

Leading the way was the apartment category, with an impressive 1,446 units started in December – a huge number in itself but positively massive when compared to December 2018’s 113 starts. More important, however, is that the increase was felt consistently across all dwelling type categories, at least in December.

There’s a reason why multi-family starts are up and single-family is down – and that reason is affordability.