5 ms·

Good symbolic act, but as the fine article states, it’s unlikely to have material effect on housing affordability for the average person until supply is increas

Good symbolic act, but as the fine article states, it’s unlikely to have material effect on housing affordability for the average person until supply is increased.

tomohawk 4y ago
Exactly. This is only attracting foreign interest due to th artificially constrained supply. If they were serious about the issue, they would increase supply.
- JacobThreeThree 4y ago
  Imagine if the government of Canada used just 1% of the 89% of crown land it owns out of all the land in Canada to give to people for housing.
  - asdff 4y ago
    There's no shortage of land in Canadian cities or really any western city in a housing crisis today. The problem is that this land is squandered on lower density development that is illegal to improve into higher density development thanks to zoning mandating low density. Zoning must keep up with job growth or else you end up with the situations we see today: wealthy people entering bidding wars on an 80 year old originally working class home.
    - JumpCrisscross 4y ago
      > no shortage of land in Canadian cities or really any western city in a housing crisis today Adding to this: various parts of America still homestead [1]. [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2010/11/16/7-Towns-Where-Land-is-Free.html https://www.cnbc.com/2010/11/16/7-Towns-Where-Land-is-Free.h...
  - bparsons 4y ago
    Crown land is controlled by the provinces. The feds only control national parks, military bases and areas covered under Indigenous title. The provinces hand over crown land to municipalities for development all the time. Land isn't the problem. The lack of density within desired metropolitan areas is the problem.
  - themitigating 4y ago
    Sorry, is Canada lacking in empty land? You are using percentages but what's the percentage of total land?
  - noselasd 4y ago
    Would anyone live on that 1% of land ? Should the government build houses there ? And give them away for free, or sell them (at what price) ? I'm not sure what your suggestion would solve.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
grecy 4y ago
Improving something is a multi-step process that takes time. I'm happy they've taken a step in the right direction, an I'm hopeful they'll take more.
- asdff 4y ago
  Its really not a step in the right direction. Imo its even a bit into the wrong direction because they are opting to sidestep the vastly easier step that would actually solve this problem for good: updating the zoning to keep up with job growth. Blaming foreign investors for today's home prices is like blaming the boogyman, because its zoning that explains everything about today's home prices and its the zoning creating a supply crisis that attracts investors in the first place (foreign and domestic lest we think this investor problem poofs into thin air with this).
  - 7e 4y ago
    Update zoning? Humans are breeding creatures. Like all animals, they will reproduce to fill their available habitat and back pressure is needed to keep the population from strangling this planet.
    - asdff 4y ago
      No one looks up the zoning code before having kids. Zoning is also not related to the carrying capacity of an environment, usually its decided by busybodies who actively ignore the literature on the subject in favor of perpetuating a status quo.
    - TheSpiceIsLife 4y ago
      My understanding is that it's been proven over and over, the world over, the way to slow population growth is to educate, especially women, and provide easy access to family planning / birth control.
  - fatbird 4y ago
    its zoning that explains everything about today's home prices Not really. Vancouver, one of the worst places in Canada for foreign investment driving up prices, has been adding new high density housing as fast as it can for 20 years now. One of the primary constraints is the construction trade that can't keep up with demand.
standardUser 4y ago
Just because a policy does not solve a problem outright does not make it symbolic. The article discusses other measures that have already been implemented and points out that current housing prices are way off their peak from a year ago. If this policy further reduces demand even a little, that will have an impact on the trajectory of housing prices. That's not symbolism.
- asdff 4y ago
  It is symbolism when everyone who is paid to think in this space considers it not to be a solution to the root of the problem, which is a lack of housing supply to keep up with job growth. You've banned foreign investors, great, there are still domestic investors who will fill the void in the market like gas in a small room. If you want there to not be investors, then housing shouldn't be such a great speculative asset to invest in, and it only is such an asset because local governments have opted to constrain supply and support investors rather than the workers they represent in their constituency.
  - themitigating 4y ago
    "local governments have opted to constrain supply and support investors rather than the workers they represent in their constituency." The local governments zoning laws might benefit investors but that may not have been goal of the government. What should they do to support workers?
    - asdff 4y ago
      >What should they do to support workers? Zone for more housing.
- loeg 4y ago
  It doesn't move the needle. It's symbolic.
  - themitigating 4y ago
    That's true. Will this policy not have any impact?

Good symbolic act, but as the fine article states, it’s unlikely to have material effect on housing affordability for the average person until supply is increased.

tomohawk 4y ago

Exactly. This is only attracting foreign interest due to th artificially constrained supply. If they were serious about the issue, they would increase supply.

JacobThreeThree 4y ago
Imagine if the government of Canada used just 1% of the 89% of crown land it owns out of all the land in Canada to give to people for housing.
- asdff 4y ago
  There's no shortage of land in Canadian cities or really any western city in a housing crisis today. The problem is that this land is squandered on lower density development that is illegal to improve into higher density development thanks to zoning mandating low density. Zoning must keep up with job growth or else you end up with the situations we see today: wealthy people entering bidding wars on an 80 year old originally working class home.
  - JumpCrisscross 4y ago
    > no shortage of land in Canadian cities or really any western city in a housing crisis today Adding to this: various parts of America still homestead [1]. [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2010/11/16/7-Towns-Where-Land-is-Free.html https://www.cnbc.com/2010/11/16/7-Towns-Where-Land-is-Free.h...
- bparsons 4y ago
  Crown land is controlled by the provinces. The feds only control national parks, military bases and areas covered under Indigenous title. The provinces hand over crown land to municipalities for development all the time. Land isn't the problem. The lack of density within desired metropolitan areas is the problem.
- themitigating 4y ago
  Sorry, is Canada lacking in empty land? You are using percentages but what's the percentage of total land?
- noselasd 4y ago
  Would anyone live on that 1% of land ? Should the government build houses there ? And give them away for free, or sell them (at what price) ? I'm not sure what your suggestion would solve.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

grecy 4y ago

Improving something is a multi-step process that takes time. I'm happy they've taken a step in the right direction, an I'm hopeful they'll take more.

asdff 4y ago
Its really not a step in the right direction. Imo its even a bit into the wrong direction because they are opting to sidestep the vastly easier step that would actually solve this problem for good: updating the zoning to keep up with job growth. Blaming foreign investors for today's home prices is like blaming the boogyman, because its zoning that explains everything about today's home prices and its the zoning creating a supply crisis that attracts investors in the first place (foreign and domestic lest we think this investor problem poofs into thin air with this).
- 7e 4y ago
  Update zoning? Humans are breeding creatures. Like all animals, they will reproduce to fill their available habitat and back pressure is needed to keep the population from strangling this planet.
  - asdff 4y ago
    No one looks up the zoning code before having kids. Zoning is also not related to the carrying capacity of an environment, usually its decided by busybodies who actively ignore the literature on the subject in favor of perpetuating a status quo.
  - TheSpiceIsLife 4y ago
    My understanding is that it's been proven over and over, the world over, the way to slow population growth is to educate, especially women, and provide easy access to family planning / birth control.
- fatbird 4y ago
  its zoning that explains everything about today's home prices Not really. Vancouver, one of the worst places in Canada for foreign investment driving up prices, has been adding new high density housing as fast as it can for 20 years now. One of the primary constraints is the construction trade that can't keep up with demand.

standardUser 4y ago

Just because a policy does not solve a problem outright does not make it symbolic. The article discusses other measures that have already been implemented and points out that current housing prices are way off their peak from a year ago. If this policy further reduces demand even a little, that will have an impact on the trajectory of housing prices. That's not symbolism.

asdff 4y ago
It is symbolism when everyone who is paid to think in this space considers it not to be a solution to the root of the problem, which is a lack of housing supply to keep up with job growth. You've banned foreign investors, great, there are still domestic investors who will fill the void in the market like gas in a small room. If you want there to not be investors, then housing shouldn't be such a great speculative asset to invest in, and it only is such an asset because local governments have opted to constrain supply and support investors rather than the workers they represent in their constituency.
- themitigating 4y ago
  "local governments have opted to constrain supply and support investors rather than the workers they represent in their constituency." The local governments zoning laws might benefit investors but that may not have been goal of the government. What should they do to support workers?
  - asdff 4y ago
    >What should they do to support workers? Zone for more housing.
loeg 4y ago
It doesn't move the needle. It's symbolic.
- themitigating 4y ago
  That's true. Will this policy not have any impact?