As the fallout from the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hikes continues, fewer homes are being built today compared to the lowest point in the pandemic — the 2020 lockdowns — and it’s going to get worse, an economist says.
The provincial government has repeatedly claimed that Ontario needs to free up more land to build houses, but according to the report, lack of land is not the issue. Instead, the report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives finds that building has slowed because inflation and the high cost of materials has made home building less profitable for developers, and there are fears the market will slow due to higher mortgage rates.
