This document summarizes Canada's housing affordability crisis in April 2017. It notes that average house prices have increased substantially in recent years and are growing faster than wages, GDP, and inflation. The author argues that governments often try to fix housing prices with isolated policies but that a combination of policies is needed to address systemic issues. The document then discusses factors contributing to rising housing costs like materials, permits, taxes, and land availability. It critiques governments for focusing on symptoms rather than root causes and suggests policies across levels of government are required to meaningfully address affordability issues.

1. CANADA HOUSING
AFFORDABILITY CRISIS –
APRIL 2017
PAUL YOUNG CPA, CGA
APRIL 21, 2017

2. PAUL YOUNG - BIO
• CPA, CGA
• SME – Risk Management
• SME – Close, Consolidate and Reporting
• SME – Public Policy
• SME – Financial Solutions
Contact information:
Paul_Young_CGA@Hotmail.com

3. OVERVIEW
• Too many governments think they have a fixed for housing prices. The problem is that it takes
combination of policies to fix the systemic issues with out of control housing prices. You do not fix a
problem with a leak in the dam through plugging one hole. So, you cannot fix real estate pricing with
one off policies.

4. AGENDA
• Housing Prices
• Cost of Housing
• Root Cause vs Symptom – Resolving Problems
• Summary

5. AVERAGE HOUSING PRICES
Average Canadian
house price climbs 9%
to $439,144 in March
from year earlier
March 2015
CBC News – April 15, 2015
March 2016
CBC News – April 15, 2016
Average house
price in Canada
jumps 15% to
$508,567 in March
from year earlier
March 2017
Globe and Mail – April 13, 2016
The average house
price in Canada for
March 2017 is
$585,787 or about
15% from March 2017
• Housing affordability continues to worsen
• Wages, GDP and Inflation are not keeping pace with growth in housing prices
• There is no quick fix to solving the affordability of housing. It will take all levels of government including the
private sector to fix the systemic issues with the housing market.

6. HOUSING
Housing Cost
• Raw Material
• Assembling
• Building Permits
• Land Transfer Taxes
Issues:
• Availability of Land
• Government regulations
• Qualifying for Mortgages
• Market value assessment
• Bids and Asks

7. GOVERNMENT MISTAKES WITH HOUSING
• Analyzing the symptoms and not the root cause

8. Government has a habit of looking for a quick fix. Quick fixes
rarely fixed systemic issues when it comes to government
policies

9. LIBERAL PLAN / HOUSING
http://www.lfpress.com/2017/04/20/ontario-to-tax-non-resident-foreign-housing-buyers-15
Toronto - Moments after introducing a package of measures designed to cool the GTA’s red-hot housing
market, Premier Kathleen Wynne conceded she’s open to doing more if her plan doesn’t work.
Wynne made the much-anticipated announcement on the housing market and new rent controls with
condos in one of Toronto’s trendiest neighbourhoods as her backdrop.
The 16 measures include the imposition of a 15% foreign speculators tax and closure of a loophole that
allowed landlords to raise rent by any amount on units built after 1991.
• BC used the foreign buyer tax and it did have an impact on housing prices. However, prices are now going back
up in BC.
• Liberal are only acting now as they are trail in the polls. No action to control spiraling housing prices happen
over their term in office
• There are more issues facing real estate
• Building Permits
• Land Transfer Taxes
• Availability of Land
• Proper market value assessment
• Mortgage approval process (tied to net income)
• Raw Material/Labor Costs
• Brownsites cleanup

10. SUMMARY / REAL ESTATE
• All levels of Government
• Needs to fix the root cause when it comes to solving problems, not try to fix the symptoms
• Government -
• Mortgage Rules
• Review land transfer taxes
• Building permits
• Availability of Land
• Infrastructure (Roads, Bridges, Transit, etc)
• Banks need to enforce better market valuation as part of assessing mortgages
• Wage growth
• Inflation
• GDP
• Original cost of the property