It’s no secret that Toronto has a housing supply and demand problem that has caused prices to surge. As the country’s top finance and tech hub bustling with top entertainment and cultural shops and restaurants, it’s no surprise that Toronto is a popular place to live. The only problem is that buyers have far fewer homes to choose from as properties get snatched up as soon as they enter the market. But what has caused this Toronto housing shortage? Here are several factors that contributed to the housing crisis in the city today.
The 2006 Growth Plan
One of the reasons why Toronto currently has a housing shortage is because of the ambitious Growth Plan the province put in place in 2006. This plan pushed for more multi-family housing units in designated urban zones and cracked down on growth in protected areas and on heritage sites. This resulted in less detached homes being built and favoured more condo development projects downtown. This eventually resulted in a demand crisis as families struggled to find homes to suit their needs and developers couldn’t find land to build more property.
Immigration
Toronto is one of the biggest multi-cultural cities in the world. It welcomes hundreds of thousands of immigrants every single year with open arms. However, many of these new Canadians prefer to remain in the city where established communities of their nationality exist, instead of moving to areas outside. While it is 100% reasonable to want to live in a neighbourhood of your culture and religion, there is only so much space, and new developments are rare in heritage districts like Greektown. This also contributes to the strain placed on housing as new citizens look to occupy homes in the city.
Low-Interest Rates
With interest rates remaining low, it has been easy for people to obtain a low rate mortgage to purchase a home. This has allowed more people to be able to afford to buy a home in Toronto who otherwise would have had to look elsewhere.
Foreign Investment
Another factor that has contributed to the Toronto housing shortage is foreign investment. Chinese and American capital has consistently flowed into the city, creating further supply issues. To curb foreign spending, the government put in place strict lending rules and a Foreign Buyer’s tax. However, this has not done much to reverse the effects as wealthy business developers from overseas are still investing heavily in real estate in Toronto and the GTA.
Regulations
According to a survey conducted by the Fraser Institute in 2016, Toronto is the country’s most highly regulated city. It found that the city has the highest compliance costs, and double the approval times of other major centers. High regulations do not make the home buying process easier and may prevent families from obtaining a home they were after.
Development Costs
It’s expensive to develop land in Toronto. This is a problem, especially when new condo prices are influenced by land prices and government fees. If land costs continue to rise and building materials continue to remain under pressure due to tariffs, then fewer condos will be built and many developments will be cancelled.
If you’ve found a home or condo to move into, be sure to hire a lawyer to help you navigate through the entire process. At Accord Law, our expert real estate law team will ensure that all your rights are protected, especially if you purchase a pre-build. Contact us today!
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Terms and Conditions
Disclaimers
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Links to Third Party Sites
The Accord Law Professional Corporation website has been designed to be a resource for information on matters that might be of interest to current or potential clients. As a result, there are links throughout the website to third party sites. These links are provided for convenience only, and do not mean that Accord Law Professional Corporation endorses or recommends the information contained in linked web sites, or guarantees its accuracy, timeliness or fitness for a particular purpose. Accord Law Professional Corporation takes no responsibility for the content or practices of third party sites.
Privacy Policy
Accord Law Professional Corporation is a firm that specializes in Real Estate, Immigration, and Business law with offices in Toronto, Ontario. The lawyer[s] and staff at Accord Law Professional Corporation (sometimes referred to as “we”) are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy outlines how we handle your personal information to protect your privacy.
Privacy Legislation
Since January 1, 2004, all Canadian organizations engaged in commercial activities have been required to comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) and the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information incorporated by reference into PIPEDA. These obligations extend to lawyers and law firms, including Accord Law Professional Corporation.
In addition, an Act respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector has been in force in Quebec since 1994 and sets out rules regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information within that province.
Lastly, as a professional services firm, we have professional and ethical obligations to keep confidential the information we receive in the context of a lawyer-client and agent-client relationship.
Personal Information
Personal information is defined in PIPEDA as information about an identifiable individual, but does not include the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization. In other words, it does not include the information that one expects to find on a business card.
Consent to Our Collection of Personal Information
In most cases, we obtain your consent to collect, use and disclose your personal information. Usually, if you retain our firm, we assume that we have your implied consent to our collection and use of your personal information, however, at times we may ask for your express consent, either verbally or in writing. Generally, we collect your personal information directly from you at the start of or during the course of your retainer with our firm. Sometimes we may obtain information about you from other sources such as a government registry or other professionals who serve you.
Use of Personal Information at Accord Law Professional Corporation
We use your personal information to provide legal advice and services to you, to issue invoices and to maintain our database of clients. In addition, if you apply for a position with Accord Law Professional Corporation, we will use your personal information to assess your candidacy. Lastly, we may use your contact information (name, e-mail and postal address) so that we may communicate with you about recent developments in the law, keep you abreast of Accord Law Professional Corporation news and invite you to our firm events.
Withdrawal of Consent
You may withdraw your consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information at any time, subject to legal and/or contractual restrictions and upon reasonable notice. Your withdrawal of consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information may impact our ability to represent you and provide you with legal advice.
You can ask us not to send you marketing communications by following the opt-out instructions in each communication or you may let us know by contacting us at info@accordlaw.ca.
Disclosure of Personal Information
Generally, we do not disclose your personal information to third parties without your consent unless permitted or required by applicable laws or court orders. The following are some examples where we may disclose your personal information: such disclosure is necessary to collect fees or disbursements; we contract with a third party to provide us with certain services such as archival file storage or insurance. (In such cases, we will use contractual or other means to ensure the third party service provider is bound by obligations regarding privacy which are consistent with this policy); or we engage expert witnesses or other law firms on your behalf.
Accuracy of Your Information
It is important that the information that we have on file be accurate and up-to-date. If, during the course of the retainer, any of your information changes, please inform us so that we can make any necessary changes. We may also ask you from time to time whether your personal information is up-to-date.
Safeguards
Accord Law Professional Corporation uses various safeguards to ensure that your personal information is protected against loss, theft, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying or alteration. These include: security of our physical premises; our professional obligations; security software and firewalls to prevent unauthorized computer access or “hacking”; and internal passwords that restrict access to our electronic files.
Access to your Personal Information
You have a right to challenge the accuracy and completeness of your personal information and to have it amended, as appropriate. You also have a right to request access to your personal information and receive an accounting of how that information has been used and disclosed, subject to certain exceptions prescribed by law. For example, if the requested information would reveal personal information about another individual, your request for access may be limited or denied. If your request for access is denied, Accord Law Professional Corporation will notify you in writing of the reason for the denial.
To request access or to amend your personal information, please contact the lawyer with whom you normally correspond or write to our Privacy Contact at the address below. Accord Law Professional Corporation will respond within thirty (30) days of receipt of your written request.
Challenging Compliance
Accord Law Professional Corporation will respond to inquiries about its policies and practices relating to its handling of your personal information. Inquiries should be directed to Accord Law Professional Corporation’s Privacy Contact using the contact information below. Accord Law Professional Corporation will investigate all complaints and will respond within 30 days of receipt of a written inquiry. If the complaint is found to be justified, Accord Law Professional Corporation will take appropriate measures to resolve it, including, if necessary, amending this Policy and its procedures.
Website Privacy
Like most other commercial websites, we may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information to optimize your visit to our website.
We do not use cookies or any electronic means to collect personal information from you or your computer; however, our website server will automatically collect IP addresses. We may view the IP log from time to time, for example, to maintain the security of our website. We do not link the IP addresses to other personally identifiable information.
Privacy Contacts
If you have any questions or complaints about this Policy or the handling of your personal information, if you wish to withdraw your consent to our use of your personal information, or to request access to or update any information we have on file, please contact the lawyer with whom you are dealing, or contact:
Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec
480 St. Laurent
Suite 501
Montreal, Quebec
H2Y 3Y7
Telephone: 514.873.4196
Toll Free: 1.888.528.7741
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on our website at accordlaw.ca and will be made available upon request through your contact at Accord Law Professional Corporation. Please check from time to time to ensure you are aware of our current policy.
