Good morning. Thank you for inviting the Canadian Real Estate Association today.
In a moment, you'll hear my colleague Shaun Cathcart provide some pretty clear evidence that the supply of new homes is not even close to keeping up with demographic changes and population growth, as it did in the late eighties and early nineties. Until we understand how significant the supply deficit is, how pernicious the problem is with respect to new construction, and how we need to take a radically different approach across the board, we will continue to see significant housing inflation.
It should come as no surprise that with housing becoming a scarce asset, prices will continue to increase. There are many reasons for the inadequate supply response. These have been discussed at length. Nimbyism, red tape, high fees and delays for permitting at the municipal level are the main ones.
I believe we need to focus on three areas. The first is federal, provincial and municipal collaboration, including conditions attached to infrastructure spending to encourage faster permitting, more open zoning, and reduced fees and other impediments to new construction.
Second, we must transform available land currently held by all levels of government into housing—housing that meets the needs of citizens across the housing spectrum.
Third, we need innovation. We need to accelerate efforts to build homes, using modern technology and tools to speed up the process. We also need innovative approaches, such as when the federal government created the town of Ajax after the war to accommodate returning servicemen and servicewomen.
My main message for the committee is that housing inflation will persist until there is the collective realization that we need to lend a great deal more urgency to the creation of new housing supply and start to take a radically different approach.
I'll hand it over to you, Shaun.