Cost of housing in Canada

[Brad Sallows]

Interesting property tax comparisons,

Halifax property tax rate % 1.12

Toronto property tax rate % 0.72

Jan 27, 2025

Rate comparisons are meaningless. Almost everywhere rates are manipulated with the rise and fall of assessed values so that the amount payable hits some target (eg. "last year's amount plus 3%"). What should draw attention is that Halifax pays $6,039 on $539,200 and Toronto pays $7,634 on $1,060,300 (Toronto pays less per assessed dollar). Alternately, if I knew the municipal services were approximately equal, I'd focus on Toronto paying more than Halifax regardless of assessed value.

 

[mariomike]

What should draw attention is that Halifax pays $6,039 on $539,200 and Toronto pays $7,634 on $1,060,300 (Toronto pays less per assessed dollar).

Right.

The tax rate % drew my attention.

Not a real estate SME. But, imagine most high value property owners would prefer a lower tax rate.

Understood low tax rate X high value = high taxes.

 

[mariomike]

City of Toronto voted to allow six-plexes in 9 of its 25 wards.

13 July, 2025

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-sixplexes-federal-funding-1.7581867

In other real estate news,

Low cost housing, but facing 300% tax increase.

Heavily in debt andl looking at a 300 per cent tax increase, the Township of Fauquier-Strickland has instead voted to end all municipal operations and layoff all staff effective Aug. 1.

Facing 300% tax hike, northern Ont. community to cease operations Aug. 1

Heavily in debt and looking at a 300 per cent tax increase, the Township of Fauquier-Strickland has instead voted to end all municipal operations and layoff all staff effective Aug. 1.

www.ctvnews.ca

 

[mariomike]

27 July, 2025

Immigration has raised home prices by more than 20% in Vancouver and Toronto.

Immigration has raised home prices in cities like Toronto by more than 20 per cent

A new study by the Government of Canada has found that immigration levels contributed to rising home ownership prices and housing rental rates in cit…

www.blogto.com

How much you need to by a home in Canada,

It became tougher to afford a home in nearly all Canadian markets in June | Ratehub.ca

The latest Affordability Report from Ratehub.ca finds it got tougher to purchase a home in 12 of 13 markets in June, due to rising mortgage rates.

www.ratehub.ca

Ottawa doubles down on threat to reduce Toronto’s housing funding following sixplex vote

Ottawa doubles down on threat to reduce Toronto’s housing funding following sixplex vote

Toronto City Council’s recent decision to permit low-rise sixplexes in nine wards, instead of across the city as initially proposed, could cost it nearly $30 million in federal housing funding.

www.ctvnews.ca

 

[lenaitch]

And the provincial government hates four-plexs:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ford-fourplexes-infrastructure-funding-1.7162251

 

[FSTO]

A good conversation regarding the housing issue.

Housing Policy with Butler + Meredith + Moffatt

Podcast Episode · The Herle Burly · 2025-07-26 · 1h 2m

podcasts.apple.com

 

[mariomike]

And the provincial government hates four-plexs:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ford-fourplexes-infrastructure-funding-1.7162251

Our Ratepayers Association, Swansea, put it this way,

When dealing with Multiplexes in the past, the question was does the City have the resources to manage these housing units – It didn’t then and it doesn’t now.
How is the City going to control the as of right Sixplexes in neighbourhoods turning into motels or short-term rentals? The City already has difficulty controlling the excesses of AirBnb motels/hotels. The City should be cacareful for what it wishes. Without stricter zoning and the adherence to height and structural zoning minus the as of right feature, affordable rentals and housing will be a reality.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

I was not really in favour of 4/6 plex's until it was brought up that a 6 plex would have taken a lot less "open ground" then the 3 houses and 3 small houses they stuck on a lot, that used to have one single house on it, down the street.

In a city (Guelph) that takes all its drinking water from ground sources, that is very important.

 

[mariomike]

Potential home buyers may, or may not, find this of interest

"Canada's most liberal city",

 

[Colin Parkinson]

City of Toronto voted to allow six-plexes in 9 of its 25 wards.

13 July, 2025

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-sixplexes-federal-funding-1.7581867

In other real estate news,

Low cost housing, but facing 300% tax increase.

Facing 300% tax hike, northern Ont. community to cease operations Aug. 1

Heavily in debt and looking at a 300 per cent tax increase, the Township of Fauquier-Strickland has instead voted to end all municipal operations and layoff all staff effective Aug. 1.

www.ctvnews.ca

Nice new building they have, I have to wonder about spending priorities they had?

 

[Good2Golf]

In a city (Guelph) that takes all its drinking water from ground sources, that is very important.

Can’t the city draw from Hamilton harbour to treat and distribute?

 

[lenaitch]

Can’t the city draw from Hamilton harbour to treat and distribute?

 

[mariomike]

Here's how much the average home in Toronto is expected to cost by 2032​

Here's how much the average home in Toronto is expected to cost by 2032

Toronto's housing market has been struggling lately, with the golden era — when local real estate was a surefire profitable investment — seemingly fa…

www.blogto.com

 

[IKnowNothing]

It's just.. so stupid

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-home-building-fund-changes-1.7618323

"I want to make sure I say this respectfully … permits are not homes," Flack said. "Yes, we can issue permits, but we want to see real results."

Premier Doug Ford appeared to close the door on the municipal request of including building permits as a criteria while speaking at an unrelated news conference Wednesday.

"We'll sit down and listen [to municipalities], but not based on permits," he said. "Permits don't result in homes immediately. They'll eventually result in homes, but not immediately."


Municipalities don't build homes. Municipalities enable the construction of homes/ hinder the construction of homes through providing ready infrastructure capacity, approving developments, and issuing building permits, or not doing those things. Holding funding out of their hands that prevents them from doing 1 of the key things they are responsible for because things outside of their control aren't getting done is incredibly self defeating policy.


Compounded by this

Canada isn’t in a housing slump — Ontario is, RBC analysis shows | Globalnews.ca

Ontario’s lag in housing construction was at 'the root of the housing crisis' in Canada, new analysis by the Royal Bank of Canada shows.

globalnews.ca

The whole country is paying for Doug's unwillingingness to be be the bad guy in the yellowbelt.

 

[Furniture]

It's just.. so stupid

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-home-building-fund-changes-1.7618323

"I want to make sure I say this respectfully … permits are not homes," Flack said. "Yes, we can issue permits, but we want to see real results."

Premier Doug Ford appeared to close the door on the municipal request of including building permits as a criteria while speaking at an unrelated news conference Wednesday.

"We'll sit down and listen [to municipalities], but not based on permits," he said. "Permits don't result in homes immediately. They'll eventually result in homes, but not immediately."


Municipalities don't build homes. Municipalities enable the construction of homes/ hinder the construction of homes through providing ready infrastructure capacity, approving developments, and issuing building permits, or not doing those things. Holding funding out of their hands that prevents them from doing 1 of the key things they are responsible for because things outside of their control aren't getting done is incredibly self defeating policy.


Compounded by this

Canada isn’t in a housing slump — Ontario is, RBC analysis shows | Globalnews.ca

Ontario’s lag in housing construction was at 'the root of the housing crisis' in Canada, new analysis by the Royal Bank of Canada shows.

globalnews.ca

The whole country is paying for Doug's unwillingingness to be be the bad guy in the yellowbelt.

So... a government expecting concrete results in return for funding is a bad thing now, because Doug Ford is saying it?

Municipalities have the ability to encourage home building, by tying permits to abbreviated timelines, and expecting builders to actually build, not just get a permit to build. They also have the power to shorten and simplify the permit process, so that things can happen much faster.

 

[IKnowNothing]

So... a government expecting concrete results in return for funding is a bad thing now, because Doug Ford is saying it?

Municipalities have the ability to encourage home building, by tying permits to abbreviated timelines, and expecting builders to actually build, not just get a permit to build. They also have the power to shorten and simplify the permit process, so that things can happen much faster.

Most of those timelines are governed by the Building Code Act and Planning Act- pieces of provincial legislation.

No, a government hamstringing a subordinate governments ability to deliver on things directly within their span of control by withholding funding for not delivering something outside of their span of control is objectively bad policy.

It's made even worse by the FACT that the powers to actually influence these things rest within provincial powers.

 

[Quirky]

 

[IKnowNothing]

Honestly- pretty spot on. Municipalities are viewed as distinct, but they don't exist under the Constitution and have no enshrined role in the distribution of powers- they're extensions of the province responsible for executing certain provincial responsibilities on a more local scale.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

This is an area where the Feds under Trudeau created a lot of mayhem by dealing with municipalities directly, instead of through the provinces. The feds aren’t totally to blame, but they did not help.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Condo's are about to go into free fall in Vancouver. New projects are grinding to a halt. Seems average Canadians were not the target market and the lack of foreign buyers has gutted the market. Apparently a group of developers has asked the Feds to reconsider their stand.

Excuse me as I don't shed a tear.