By Allison Jones
Premier Doug Ford has pledged to build 1.5 million homes over 10 years by 2031, but Ontario has yet to meet any of its annual targets to reach that goal, even though it is came close last year after it began counting long-term care beds.
This year’s annual target is 125,000 homes, but the government’s autumn economic statement tabled on Wednesday shows it expects only 81,300, based on an average of private sector forecasts.
In each of the next years, the housing start projections have been revised downwards compared to the forecasts made at the time of the spring budget. The strongest growth is expected in 2027, with around 95,300 housing units.
Government officials say that even though interest rates have fallen, it will take some time before that drop has an impact. They say they still expect to hit the 1.5 million housing target.
In the fall economic update, the government says that while progress is being made in building new homes, homebuilders across the province still face a challenging economic environment, including low rates high interest.
The government has created various funds worth billions of dollars to help boost housing construction, including incentives for municipalities and funds to build housing-friendly infrastructure, such as building water pipelines. water and sewer.
The spring budget included $1.6 billion in new money for housing-friendly infrastructure. Municipalities have described the lack of new water lines and roads as a barrier to building new housing, and they can use the funds for such projects.
But municipalities have complained about how their progress is measured under the Faster Build Fund, which gives extra funding to certain communities if they exceed or come close to targets set by the government.
Municipalities have asked Housing Minister Paul Calandra to base their eligibility for the fund on the number of building permits they issue, rather than the number of construction starts. Once the permit is issued, developers may not begin construction because of high interest rates, supply chain problems or labor shortages, big city mayors say.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 30, 2024.
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Faster Build Fund Doug Ford Housing Supply for Home Construction Housing Targets Ontario Paul Calandra The Canadian Press
Last modification: October 30, 2024