Tausi Insider

Construction workers on the top floor of the Time and Space condominium project in Toronto on Oct. 11. Fred Lum/Tausi Insider Canada’s federal housing agency is lending billions of dollars to boost construction of rental homes without routinely disclosing the recipients of the money or where the units are being built, shrouding in secrecy a program designed to address the country’s housing shortfall by providing developers with low-cost financing. The Rental Construction Financing Initiative is one of Ottawa’s major efforts to boost home construction. It was announced in 2016 with $2.5-billion in funding, which has grown to more than $25-billion, making it the largest program in the government’s National Housing Strategy, a bundle of different initiatives intended to improve access to affordable units. RCFI is administered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which as of this summer had committed to $13.6-billion in loans through the program. The developers receiving the m...

A new report by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says government alone can’t solve the country’s housing challenges. The report by CMHC deputy chief economist Aled ab Iorwerth says the scale of the problem is so large that the private sector must be involved. The national housing agency says rent subsidies and more social housing are helpful, but more needs to be done. It says there must also be increased supply of housing aimed at the market. Home prices have eased this year as the real estate market has cooled, but they are coming off record levels earlier in the pandemic. The report says the imperative of increasing housing supply will be even greater as Canada seeks to attract more immigrants. https://www.tausiinsider.com/government-cant-solve-housing-issues-alone-private-sector-must-be-involved-cmhc-report-says/?feed_id=332358&_unique_id=645d53d77b13e