The Ontario Greens announced their 'First-time Homebuyer Support Plan' today to help cool the red-hot housing market for first-time homebuyers.
Leader Mike Schreiner says under the plan, Ontario Greens will:
- End blind bidding, to make the bidding process more transparent and bring down the skyrocketing price of houses
- Make home inspections mandatory at the seller’s expense to save new homeowners tens of thousands of dollars in possible repairs, provide transparency and increase consumer protection
- Implement a province-wide multiple homes speculation tax and vacant home tax to reduce rampant speculative demand in the housing market and free-up homes for first-time buyers
- Create a new multi-provider home warranty model for newly built homes to protect new homebuyers
“A whole generation of young people are giving up hope of ever owning a home,” Schreiner said at the announcement in Toronto.
Rampant speculation, a lack of supply, and untransparent practices in the purchasing process like blind bidding means bidding wars are the norm. This further hikes up the price of homes while driving fear of missing out on a home purchase, forcing first-time homebuyers to make rapid-fire, rushed offers without important steps like home inspections. These conditions are making it increasingly stressful and less affordable for families and individuals trying to purchase their first home.
“The current home-buying market in Ontario favours wealthy speculators and corporations with excess capital over families that are looking for a place to call home in the communities they know and love,” Schreiner said. “We have a plan to change that and level the playing field.”
Meanwhile, tith the Canadian dream of homeownership on life support in Ontario, Ontario Realtors are calling on all political parties and candidates to prioritize housing policies that will ensure future generations have a shot at owning a home.
Released today by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA), the 2022 Election Housing Platform: A Home for Everyone puts forward solutions to save the Canadian Dream of homeownership in Ontario.
“As of March, 10 out of 36 real estate markets in Ontario had an average home price over a million dollars, and six others are on the verge of breaking the million-dollar mark. High prices are driving young families right out of the province to find a home they can afford,” said OREA CEO Tim Hudak. “Ontario stands to lose its edge as one of the most attractive places to raise a family or start a business because of the runaway cost of housing. For a political party to win in June, they need to show voters they have the solutions for Ontario’s housing affordability crisis.”
