Ontario Could Build 1.5M Homes Over The Next Decade & Here's Why It Could Happen

There's a chance that the Ontario government could build 1.5 million homes in the next ten years if they follow the recommendations put out by the task force focused on addressing the housing crisis in the province.

Ontario's Housing Affordability Task Force published its recommendations on February 8, which provided the provincial government with options on how to deal with the housing supply crisis.

According to the Task Force, there are five key areas that can rapidly boost the supply of houses for Ontario's market that will help meet a goal of adding 1.5 million homes within the next ten years:

• Change zoning and planning policies to make space for greater density and broaden the variety of housing.
• Trim and streamline urban design rules so development costs could be lowered.
• "Depoliticize the approvals process to address NIMBYism and cut red tape to speed up housing."
• Stop abuse of the appeals process and tackle Ontario Land Tribunal's backlog by prioritizing cases that will increase housing.
• Have all levels of government on the same page to channel their efforts on bringing more housing to the province.

The Task Force says the average cost for a house in Ontario by the end of 2021 was $923,000, which is an eyewatering jump from what it was ten years ago at $329,000 (a tear-jerking $594,000 price difference, to be exact.)

"Today, home ownership or finding a quality rental is now out of reach for too many Ontarians. The system is not working as it should be," the task force writes.

"While the crisis is widespread, it weighs more heavily on some groups than on others. Young people starting a family who need a larger home find themselves priced out of the market. Black, Indigenous and marginalized people face even greater challenges."

The Housing Affordability Task Force was established during Ontario's fall economic statement back in November, which was created so they could give the government some advice on how to support housing supply and affordability in the province.

"Our recommendations focus on ramping up the supply of housing. Measures are already in place to try to cool demand, but they will not fill Ontario’s housing need," the task force concludes.

"More supply is key. Building more homes will reduce the competition for our scarce supply of homes and will give Ontarians more housing choices. It will improve housing affordability across the board."