Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau will meet with Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa and Toronto Mayor John Tory on Tuesday to discuss the city’s break-neck housing market, laying the groundwork for possible policy measures to control surging prices.
The gathering of the three politicians is set to take place as agents and sellers gear up for what is expected to be an especially frenzied spring housing season marked by bidding wars and multiple above-asking offers.
The cost of a detached home in Toronto roared to a new record high of almost $1.6 million in March, a 33 per cent climb over prices last year, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). While new listings have risen over the past 12 months, even stronger sales continued to tighten the market.
The soaring prices and short supply have sparked a fierce debate over what forces are behind the ongoing run-up in prices, and what measures policy-makers ought to put in place to avoid a sudden correction. So far no consensus has emerged.
“We're just trying to figure out what we can do without overcorrecting the system, while at the same time providing greater support for those who want to get into the market,” Sousa said Thursday.
He has signalled new housing affordability measures may be part of his government’s upcoming budget, taking aim at what he called “property scalpers” in public comments last week.
“There are those who go into new developments, buy up a slew of properties, and then flip them, while avoiding paying their fair share of taxes,” he said. “I call them property scalpers.”
Tory, meanwhile, has called for a tax on vacant homes, similar to what has been implemented in Vancouver. He has said city officials will start using Toronto Hydro and Toronto Water data to monitor the number of vacant properties.
Morneau, for his part, has said Ottawa has been doing its own “deep dive” into the county’s real estate markets. He has not specified what sort of actions the federal government is willing to take beyond its tightening of mortgage rules last year.
TREB president Larry Cerqua praised the slow and steady approach in a release earlier this month, noting he expects his organization will have a seat at the table for the upcoming trilateral talks.
“It has been encouraging to see that policy-makers have not implemented any knee-jerk policies regarding the GTA housing market,” he said. “Policy-makers must remember that it is the interplay between the demand for and supply of listings that influences price growth.”
With files from The Canadian Press
