Rant About The Need For More Affordable Housing

I don’t often go into a rant, but I heard something yesterday that really irked me. I was in the car listening to 680 News when I heard the Minister of Housing, Chris Ballard respond to the Ontario Home Builders’ Association and the Ontario Real Estate Association’s call for Queen’s Park to take action to address home affordability. Ballard’s response was along the lines of “(paraphrasing) I’m skeptical when the two groups who stand to benefit the most say that we need to build more housing.”

I mean I know that realtors get a bad rap (deservedly so in some cases) for being self-serving, but please don’t use that as an excuse to brush aside the real issue of the lack of affordable housing. Here is what I have to say to Mr. Ballard.

Have you ever worked with first-time buyers who have been outbid 5, 6 or 7 times? No? Well, they are emotionally bruised by the experience – frustrated, sad and exhausted.

Have you ever watched first-time buyers take a major risk (against the advice of their realtor) by offering to buy a condo without having a lawyer review the status certificate, without a financing condition and without a home inspection because they know they need a clean offer in order to have even a fighting chance in a bidding war? Probably not. I imagine that back when you bought your first home you were able to make your offer conditional on financing, lawyer’s review, home inspection and anything else you wanted to put in.

Have you ever had a first time buyer finally win on offer night only to have the property appraise way under what they agreed to pay so their financing falls through? No, I didn’t think so.

And what about this; the possibility that there will be a market correction leaving these financially-strapped new home owners owing more on their mortgage than their property is worth because they paid a super inflated price during a bidding frenzy. Or that rising interest rates on top of the super inflated price they paid will mean they can’t afford the home after all.

Mr. Ballard, these are things that realtors grapple with every day. Home ownership is thought to be a rite of passage. We’re raised with the idea that, if we work hard, we should be able to buy a home. Here are the facts: A recent study from HSBC that looked at 9,000 millennials in nine countries shows Canada’s adults aged 18 to 35 are less likely to own their own home than millennials elsewhere, including the U.S, even though 82% want to buy a home. Why? Affordability in Toronto is at a 25 year low based on a combination of high housing prices and low wage growth.

So, please Mr. Ballard, drop the pretense that you are skeptical about the Associations' motives and do whatever you can to address housing affordability. Yes, realtors will sell a few more houses, but more importantly you’ll be helping the millennial generation achieve their lifelong dream of homeownership without the extraordinary risks they are having to take in the current overheated market.