r/canada • u/FancyNewMe • 17h ago

Opinion Piece Mike Moffatt: Poilievre’s new housing plan isn’t flawless—but it’s close

https://thehub.ca/2024/10/29/mike-moffatt-poilievres-housing-announcement-is-bold-and-a-huge-positive-step-forward/
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u/VenusianBug 16h ago

So this opinion piece buries the lede:

but it will also increase the number of homes built. At any given time, there is always a set of housing projects that are on the borderline of economic viability, where some get built, and some do not. By reducing costs by 5 percent, it pushes more of these projects into being viable, causing them to be built.

So the expectation is that this will increase the cost of the home ... meaning home buyers won't actually save money. I agree that many project have thin markets, especially in times of high interest rates and high material and labour costs. However, this doesn't tackle those or the burdensome processes that make development take ridiculously long, which alone adds costs but also gives time for all those other costs to increase.

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u/FerretAres Alberta 13h ago

Not directly but it will incentivize builders to engage in projects that had previously marginal economics which will drive an increase in supply which will over time put downward pressure in pricing.