Politicians are failing to consider the young as housing prices soar: expert

VANCOUVER-As rumours of an imminent federal election swirl, Canada's ever-increasing home prices need to be part of the political conversation, says an expert.

High housing costs in cities, such as Vancouver and Toronto, require Canadians to hold a difficult conversation, one they hesitate to have, said Paul Kershaw, a University of British Columbia professor in population health, and founder of Generation Squeeze, an organization that conducts research and advocates for the needs of younger generations.

There's an addiction to high, and rising, home values, both in the political world and amongst a large portion of the general population, because a majority of Canadians are homeowners," Kershaw said.

Our policy-makers are not necessarily enthusiastic to jump in and address the fact that in many respects the incentives are right there for our home prices to continue to rise."

For renters such as Zahid Ali, a 31-year-old letter-carrier, living in Vancouver's West End, Canada's leaders addressing the need for firm action on housing prices can't come soon enough.

Ali and his partner want to own, but the cost of homes in Vancouver is prohibitive.

He said some of his coworkers have chosen to live in the Fraser Valley, which could mean more than two hours commuting a day for him.

I've been looking at real estate ads and it's so ridiculously overpriced," he said. I don't think my partner and I would even be approved for a mortgage that large."

The benchmark price for a residential property in Metro Vancouver increased 14.5 per cent to $1.175 million from June 2020 to June 2021. In the second quarter of this year, home prices in the Toronto-area rose 18.2 per cent to a median price of $1.03 million.

A June poll by Vancouver-based polling firm Research Co. found in both B.C. and Ontario, 19 per cent of survey respondents said housing issues were their largest concern.

In Ontario, the statistic puts housing in a tie with the economy for second place among voters' top issues. In B.C., it's just two points behind the economy, for third place.

Nationally, the demographic of 18-year-olds-to-34-year-olds was the most concerned; 17 per cent said housing costs form the most important issue for them.

It's a big election issue for Ali and one on which he wants real action.

I think there needs to be some sort of government intervention," said Ali, who suggested rent control or laws limiting the amount over an assessed value that homes can sell for.

In recent weeks, Ottawa has announced it is providing low-cost loans to developers to build more than 1,400 rental housing units in Metro Vancouver. It also announced a partnership with the province and city of Vancouver to build more than 230 social housing units in the downtown eastside.

The rental units are part of the Rental Construction Financing initiative (RCFi), which provides low-cost loans through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to projects building rental housing in areas where it's needed.

The government says it intends to produce up to 71,000 rental units through the program.

Andy Yan, an adjunct professor of urban studies at Simon Fraser University, said as the cost of buying a home slips out of reach for many, it's questionable whether announcements about rentals do much to ease the fears of those hoping to buy.

He wonders whether the companies behind the rental units might not build them, even if they weren't lent the money by the CMHC.

Does this really do anything on scale or is this just a feel-good kind of move?" Yan said.

It's ambiguous."

Kershaw said many political parties do realize engaging younger voters is politically essential, yet they continue to shy away from talking about the more challenging aspects of housing affordability.

There's a hesitancy to talk about who's been winning (in) the housing system," he said.

Politicians need to lead the conversation and part of it must include whether there are other ways to grow the economy without relying on rising home prices, Kershaw said.

Ali said he is not hearing any answers to his problem.

As of right now, we're just basically going to continue renting and be at the mercy of whatever the rental rate is, which is ridiculous, in itself," he said.

Still, (it's) cheaper than getting a huge mortgage."

-with files from The Canadian Press

Jeremy Nuttall is a Vancouver-based investigative reporter for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @Nuttallreports