Who said it hasn’t increased? I said growth is steady, as in rate.
Not talking about population growth but the influx of new families all of whom require new accommodation.
I would welcome any data you have on this, but it’s by no means a new issue.
Look up the number of illegals estimated in the country then add in the number of foreign students; all require housing. How does a planning department that has no advance knowledge of these numbers plan new schools, apartment development, roads, and services. They don't even have a clue where these people are going to settle. Do we just build apartments on the outskirts of town hoping people will come? The chinese tried that and it hasn't worked out too well for them.
Not sure which markets you’ve been watching, but housing prices have been flying upwards in larger markets far longer than that. In my family we’ve been dealing with real estate in greater Vancouver, which we’ve seen flying up since at least 2013 when we started paying attention, and Ottawa, which took off in early 2017 (very conveniently around the time we bought). Home prices very by the specific urban market as well as by the type of home. While there has been a bump on some sectors around the same time as the pandemic, that hasn’t been the start of any of this, and in most places the ‘affordability’ line for most normal people was crossed long before. Any moves to larger residences were generally driven by those fortunate enough to have already won the timing game with existing equity.
in housing price statistics from the GOC I looked up prices for 2020. Came across a graph showing the last 15 years. It was a constant gentle upward curve until first quarter 2020 at which point it went ballistic.
Local authorities can and in some places have banned short term rentals, and that is squarely provincial/municipal jurisdiction. Foreign absentee ownership is absolutely a big problem, and the federal government was slow to act there. Part of their infrastructure plan is to extend the ban on foreign purchase that they did finally implement a couple years ago, and I applaud that. Agreed but the barn door was too late closing Interesting to follow the action that Portugal and Tenerife are taking with regards the same issue.