One argument that you might be able to make is that home prices follow urban density. New York City, for example, is dense. And homes in New York City tend to be more expensive than those in, oh I don’t know, rural Canada. So with… Read More
It seems like just yesterday that I wrote about Canada’s population surpassing 40 million people. Because today, some 9 months later, we’re already over 41 million. Since 2000, we are the fastest growing country in the G-7: This is, in many ways, a positive thing.… Read More
This is not a post about laneway housing. Okay, it sort of is. But there’s a broader point to discuss. Recently, a local Toronto newspaper ran this article talking about how a bunch of people are upset that their neighbor is building an as-of-right garden… Read More
Here is a mapping, from the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, showing the number of “closed” building permits issued in Toronto between 2013 and 2023 for both rear-yard suites (laneway houses and garden suites) and secondary suites (like basement apartments). A “closed” building permit… Read More
Rental housing in France is both heavily regulated and supported through dedicated public funds. Here’s a high-level overview of what that means (via this 2021 Brookings case study by Arthur Acolin): If you’re interested in rental housing, Brookings also has articles covering the US, Germany,… Read More
The prevailing view on short-term rentals right now seems to be this: That is, it’s viewed as a zero-sum game between residents and tourists. There are only so many homes within a city, and so if any of them are to turn into short-term rentals,… Read More
As a follow-up to yesterday’s post about infill housing and overall urban densities, let’s look at some basic math. The City of Toronto has an estimated population of 3,025,647 (as of June 2023) and a land area of 630 square meters. That means that its… Read More
Bill Gairdner of Gairloch Developments sent me this message the other morning: He is talking about Junction House and he is, of course, right. It is a very cool feeling to create homes for people. It’s not easy building buildings. People get upset at you.… Read More
We know that, for a variety of reasons, more and more people are living alone. As of 2018, single-person households represented about 28% of all households in the US. This is up from 13.1% in 1960. Here in Canada, single-person households became the predominant household… Read More
Here’s a potential scenario: “When you have investors competing with first-time buyers who walk in with a couple of [baby] strollers, typically the investor is going to win,” Mr. Pasalis says. “They are well capitalized. They can pay a higher price. And this is why… Read More
BRANDON DONNELLY 