Statement from CEO Tim Hudak on government expert housing forum

Back in March, the Ontario Real Estate Association together with the Ontario Home Builders’ Association urged the Provincial Government to create a housing experts task force to provide ideas for increasing housing supply in Ontario. The Government responded, and today OREA’s president Ettore Cardarelli is participating in the expert housing forum.

Research has shown that home affordability will be a major election issue in 2018. Data shows foreign buyers made up a very small percentage of real estate transactions in the month after a speculation tax was introduced, which reinforces that the driver is a lack of housing supply. The best way for Government to ensure that home ownership stays within reach of the middle class and new Canadians is to increase housing supply. Some of the solutions that Ontario REALTORS® have put on the table include building more ‘missing middle’ housing like townhomes, duplexes and stacked townhomes, reducing the barriers to building, and providing municipalities with flexibility for their growth.

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About the Ontario Real Estate Association
The Ontario Real Estate Association represents 70,000 brokers and salespeople who are members of the 39 real estate boards throughout the province. OREA serves its REALTOR® members through a wide variety of professional publications, educational programs, advocacy, and other services. www.OREA.com