Canada/B.C. panel calls for boost in housing supply to ensure affordability

TORONTO – The Centre for Urban Research and Land Development at Toronto’s Ryerson University has reported on a recent Canada/B.C. panel that concludes there is a need for significant new housing above demographic needs if the affordability of housing is to be improved.

The recent final report of the Canada/B.C. Expert Panel on the Future of Housing Supply and Affordability concludes housing needs should incorporate an “affordability adjustment” to account for past undersupply of new housing, especially ground-related homes, as well as adjustments for demolitions and vacancies.
Applying the expert panel’s approach to the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) increases the quantity of new housing needed over 2021-2031 from an average of 50,400 units per year forecast by Hemson Consulting in 2020 to an estimated 79,300 units per year, an Aug. 19 release stated.

The report said, “Household growth on its own is insufficient as an indication of future housing needs because household formation is constrained to the available supply – new households cannot form if there is nowhere for them to live.”