52 per cent of Canadians said reducing prices was necessary, while only 35 per cent felt prices should be kept stable. Thirteen per cent of respondents were unsure.
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Carolyn Whitzman, senior housing researcher and adjunct professor at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, said it was noteworthy that 47 per cent of people aged 55 or older also wanted housing prices to decrease. She didn’t expect so many older Canadians to feel that way, especially compared to 51 per cent of people aged 35-54 and 59 per cent of 18-34 year olds wanting the same outcome.
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Federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson sparked controversy earlier this year when he said that prices should stay stable, rather than drop.
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However, it would take decades of stagnation for wages to grow enough to a point where housing becomes affordable, Ms. Whitzman said.
I can’t find the webpage now, but about a month or so before our last election, there was a webpage where they iirc gathered signatories from people who wanted housing prices to lower, and a good portion of them were retired.
Fuck polls. Do people want the grocery prices to go down as well? Can’t say, unless a poll is done I guess. Polls either may be right or they may be wrong but we seem to let the poll results push us down certain paths without any further research being done.
Generally, yes. Polls are a terrible way to decide policy. But politicians have been using them to stay in power since the 90s (at least). So it’s worth keeping an eye on them.
it was noteworthy that 47 per cent of people aged 55 or older also wanted housing prices to decrease
This is a really big deal. People in that age bracket are almost or totally done their careers. Their savings, pensions, and houses are all the wealth they’re going to get. They’re going to need those to fund their retirement.
For them to say their house is worth too much is a big deal.
It is. They vote as well, so hopefully politicians will do the right thing and start building affordable below market housing.
Outlaw corporate ownership of ALL housing. Houses should be used for housing people, not speculation.
Meanwhile, our home starts are lower than they need to be, so we’ll need to find other ways of lowering costs. Unless we want to follow the “let’s wait for wages to catch up to prices” strategy.
In my area, a “starter home” that would have been listed at $860,000 a year ago just sold for $770,000.
This minor correction seems to be happening in a lot of places. But realistically, this correction needs to keep on happening for a few years before housing begins to line up with employment income again.
That’s excellent! Let’s hope it keeps going!
