Reforming the minutiae of the building permit process might not seem exciting, but it can encourage homebuilding and affect prices.
land-use regulation
Fortunately, municipalities control many of the factors that determine housing supply growth.
Housing tends to be less scarce, and less expensive, in markets where homebuilders are less constrained by geography or regulations.
In Vancouver, it takes an average of 15 months to get a residential development approved—nearly five months longer than in neighbouring Burnaby.
The joint economies of the Toronto, Hamilton, and Oshawa metro areas are home to more than one in five Canadian jobs. Indeed, this region deserves its reputation as Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe.
In Calgary, home prices have more than doubled over the past decade. Despite the recent economic slowdown, more people are moving to Alberta than leaving it.
As rising housing costs in Metro Vancouver continue to make headlines, municipal policy-makers, including Vancouver’s mayor, point to a number of potential causes.