Looking ahead – BILD’s focus for 2025
October 28, 2024
The year 2024 has presented significant challenges for the homebuilding industry. Although macroeconomic conditions are showing signs of improvement, with easing interest rates, many prospective homebuyers remain hesitant to leave the sidelines, and both consumer and business sentiment continue to be cautious.
Against this backdrop, the cost to build in the GTA, at a rate the market can absorb, will be a defining issue in 2025. Addressing this challenge will be crucial for the sector’s recovery.
Pressing issues
BILD’s agenda for 2025 is centred on tackling these pressing issues – with a primary focus on advocating for reduced building costs through immediate relief from government-imposed fees and taxes. This includes addressing development charges (DC) and urging the federal government to fulfill its long overdue promise to update the threshold price for new homes that qualify for a full federal HST rebate. This is a two-pronged approach which aims to help new projects pencil out and to try to stimulate demand by increasing rebate amounts for consumers currently on the sidelines.
In addition to these immediate measures, BILD will work towards identifying sustainable financing mechanisms for growth and improving planning and approvals processes. These conversations are occurring in isolation across the GTA and BILD research and public communications are central to this effort. In 2024, BILD published four unique research papers, and this will be followed by four more in 2025. Next year’s research will explore alternative mechanisms to development charges, purpose-built rental, land use and land use policy considerations in the GTHA – and, in collaboration with a prominent think tank, a new effort to produce a series of micro papers throughout the year addressing common issues and solutions.
Advocacy efforts
BILD’s advocacy efforts span municipal, provincial and federal levels, forming the core of its services to members and the industry. At the municipal level, numerous active files across GTA municipalities fall into three main categories: 1. taxes, fees and charges, 2. municipal approvals and efficiencies, and 3. policy reforms that support development. In 2024, BILD successfully concluded several appeals, and anticipates resolving the remaining 14 appeals in 2025. Provincially, key priorities for 2025 include the potential for an early election, electrification of new homes, consumer protection requirements, funding for new communities and the anticipated Greenbelt review. Federally, advancing purpose-built rental initiatives and HST rebate indexing will be critical.
To further support advocacy and frame public discussions, BILD will continue phases two and three of its Do Something public education campaign in 2025. The goal of the campaign is to keep housing issues front and centre in the public’s mind, and to make sure sustainable solutions are tabled and adopted by all political parties and candidates during the upcoming election cycles.
As 2024 concludes, BILD remains committed to working urgently to ensure that 2025 brings significant improvements for the industry. For more information about BILD and its initiatives, visit bildgta.ca.