Housing for All#Newsletter |
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Condo Developer’s plan to buy single-family homes goes viral Globe and Mail article goes viral when journalist Rachelle Youngla highlights the $1-billion plan by Toronto condo developer Core Development Group Ltd. to buy single-family homes across the country. A wildly popular real estate plan in the United States, Core aims to purchase single-family units and convert them to 4,000 rental units. Many Real Estate Investments Trusts (REITs) plan to follow Core Development in what is being called “the financialization of housing” by critics like former UN special rapporteur on the right to housing and the global director of the Shift, Leilani Farha. Farha says, “At the end of the day, Core’s plan is yet more proof that Canada’s housing landscape is becoming increasingly dominated by corporate landlords and financial actors seeking only to extract phenomenal returns on investment. It’s hard to view this as a good thing.” Read more... |
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Manulife Bank Debt Survey reveals homeownership out of reach Housing prices have hit an all-time high and are rising in all corners of the country with no end in sight, making home ownership increasingly difficult for many West Islanders. Three-quarters (75%) of those who do not own a home want to own one but can't afford to. Two-thirds (67%) worry about housing prices in their local community, suggesting they believe they might have to move to another community if they decide they want to buy a new home. Seven out of 10 Canadians (71%) who do not own a home worry about saving up for one, including as many as four in ten (39%) who worry a lot about this. Read more… |
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Portland zoning proposal increases new housing units by 179% without a single high-rise Portland’s city council set a new bar for North American housing reform this month by legalizing low-density upzoning on almost any residential lot. The “Residential Infill Project,” as it’s known, allows any property to build four to six homes on any lot if at least half are available to low-income Portlanders at regulated, affordable prices. The measure will make it viable for nonprofits to intersperse below-market housing anywhere in the city for the first time in a century. Portland’s new rules set the size limit for one-unit buildings, which will stop the renovation and construction of “McMansions”. Portland’s duplexes will be up to three-fifths the square footage of a lot, and triplexes and fourplexes up to 0.7. “Missing middle” housing options like plexes, and Accessory Dwelling Units aren’t radical in Montreal, but are rarely legal in the West Island. Read More... |
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DDO fire becomes an affordable housing emergency for many tenants June 5 will be a night to remember for tenants at an apartment complex on Brunswick boulevard in Dollard-des-Ormeaux. As reported by Global News, the fire left nearly 150 apartments evacuated overnight, and as many as 75 families looking for new housing. Reporter Phil Carpenter described the situation for tenants looking for affordable housing as incredibly difficult, which highlights a clear need for more affordable rental stock in the neighbourhood. Read more... |
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F.A.R. Floor Area Ratio, known as FAR, is the ratio of a building's total floor area (gross floor area) to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built. It is used as one of the regulations in city planning to determine the size and height of buildings on any specific lot. FAR can be used in zoning to limit urban density. While it directly limits building density, indirectly it also limits the number of people that a building can hold, without controlling a building's external shape.
Real Estate Bubble According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a housing bubble, or real estate bubble, is a run-up in housing prices fueled by speculation, and exuberant spending to the point of collapse. Housing bubbles usually start with an increase in demand, in the face of limited supply, which takes a relatively extended period to replenish and increase. Speculators pour money into the market, further driving up demand. At some point, demand decreases or stagnates at the same time supply increases, resulting in a sharp drop in prices—and the bubble bursts. Bloomberg Economics recently reported that Canada has the second biggest Housing Bubble in the world. The price-to-rent ratio (204.2%), and price-to-income (153.2%) are the second largest in the index right behind top spot New Zealand. |
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Prototyping Phase takes shape Like promised, the winning ideas have a plan to be developed in detail with participants to focus their energy into the Prototyping phase (see below for more information). For those interested in developing the winning ideas, reach out to Housing Liaison Agent Piotr Boruslawski at pboruslawski@tqsoi.org to join! |
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Housing for All: West Island is facilitating and empowering the West Island community to create innovative affordable housing solutions that are suitable for the regional context. Residents and local stakeholders are sharing their knowledge of the current problems which are stimulating brainstorming which will lead them to co-create solutions for more diverse housing opportunities. |
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