Housing news & insights
-
Most Canadians know that stalling home prices is the path back to affordability
It would be nice if the solution to Canada’s housing crisis were as straightforward as ramping up supply. But it’s not. Happily, most Canadians seem to have a good grasp of what's needed to restore affordability.
Read more -
Trudeau: "House pricing can not continue to go up"
The Prime Minister boldly acknowledging that house prices must stall strengthens all other housing policy commitments. Ambitious targets for building more homes do little good if we ignore the prices for which these homes will sell. Without deep subsidies funded by tax dollars, new market units will price in the rising land values that have already soared well beyond what most can afford to rent or buy with local earnings.
Read more -
Globe & Mail: We need a federal task force on generational fairness
Talk of “youth issues” is distracting, drawing attention from the root causes of the problems, which have less to do with younger generations than their treatment by older ones as a result of past policy decisions. To begin to fix this, Ottawa should launch a general fairness council to investigate why Canada no longer works fairly for all generations.
Read more -
The Globe & Mail: Stalling prices needs to be part of our national housing strategy
After a short pause triggered by interest rate hikes, home prices have returned to their relentless, decades-long upward trend, punishing the finances of young people, newcomers and most non-owners. The policy positions of the two main parties in Canada share responsibility for home prices having left behind local earnings. To rejuvenate the ability for young people to pay for housing, version 2.0 of the National Housing Strategy must focus more on the regular market, starting with a clear goal that has wide public support: Home prices should stall.
Read more -
The Agenda: Do our life milestones need updating?
Gen Squeeze founder Dr. Paul Kershaw recently joined TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin for a discussion about how life milestone timelines are changing and even disappearing. If the standard life-stage achievements for graduation, career, marriage, children, homeowning, and retirement created predictability and comfort, what happens when people don't meet those marks?
Read more -
The Globe & Mail: Key affordability issues ignored by UCP and NDP in Alberta’s election
Affordability is a top concern for Alberta voters. So it is surprising that the United Conservative Party and the NDP have blind spots on this issue, especially when it comes to younger Albertans.
Read more -
The Globe & Mail: Time to lend more to business and less to homeowners
Canada’s addiction to high and rising home prices has made our country lazy when it comes to planning for economic growth. This has hurt the finances of younger Canadians and newcomers, while ballooning the wealth of older homeowners.
Read more -
Let’s stop pretending that interest rates don’t affect home prices
Our research identifies low-interest rates as a contributing force driving the run-up in home prices. So we were not surprised to see the market cool off when The Bank of Canada increased interest rates, undermining the cheap credit system that helped buyers bid up home prices. The Bank of Canada managed to do the unthinkable - cool off one of the world's hottest housing markets - by raising interest rates. So why do they rarely ever mention this?
Read more -
Fixing the Home Ownership Tax Shelter: New study published by the Canadian Tax Journal
At a time when politicians are decrying Canada’s housing affordability crisis, it may come as a surprise that we choose to subsidize so generously many of the most securely housed Canadians through a home ownership tax shelter. A new study by Generation Squeeze Founder, Dr. Paul Kershaw, published by the Canadian Tax Journal revisits the Principal Residence Exemption (PRE), along with public support for reducing the home ownership tax shelter.
Read more -
Change is in the air
Watching the natural world transform around us is a welcome reminder that change is possible, especially during these precarious times. This spring has brought with it a wave of interest in our work, making it even more inspiring than usual for us at Gen Squeeze.
Read more