“Homelessness & Affordability Crisis”

Advocates say short-term rentals listed on Airbnb are showing up in some Toronto condo buildings in concerning numbers, contributing to the deterioration of local neighbourhoods and the surge in rental prices.

A new analysis of City of Toronto data by non-profit advocacy group Fairbnb Canada found that 600 short-term rentals, also known as STRs, are located within three condo buildings alone.

The group’s executive director, Thorben Wieditz, says it raises concerns over whether these units are operating as “ghost hotels” without being zoned or taxed that way.

After fleeing his home in Ukraine, Volodymyr Komliev and his family have found themselves a new place to live in a High Park apartment building — but after hearing about the rent increases his neighbours experienced this year, he’s worried if they’ll be able to stay.

Komliev said when they looked for a new place to live with their four-year-old daughter, they knew a big city would be expensive. But they didn’t expect rents could increase so much each year — some tenants saying they’ve received between six to 11 per cent year-over-year hikes, according to the building’s tenant association.

Mass immigration evidently helps reduce housing shortages we’re told.

GRAPHIC VIDEO: Hamas terrorists methodically shoot at every portable toilet at the Israeli desert rave to make sure no partygoers survive pic.twitter.com/SVWFgN6dOy

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) October 13, 2023

Despite a desperate need for new housing, Canada’s developers are building fewer homes than they were at the height of pandemic lockdowns, a new study says – and experts say that could mean a generation of Canadians won’t be able to afford homes for most of their adult lives.

Inflation and the Bank of Canada’s response to it, has been the main reason for the slowdown, according to David Macdonald, a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

The new decline in housing development started last year, when the Bank of Canada started to raise interest rates to cool the economy and combat inflation, Macdonald found in a new report for CCPA.

Look what Volkswagen and Stelantis got. Makes sense to have Junior come begging.

In July, 2020, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem assured Canadian households that borrowing rates were very low and would stay that way “for a very long time.”

And by all appearances, it looked like he would be right. The economy was in shambles amid widespread shutdowns and sky-high unemployment because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many turned to government financial supports to afford basic necessities and keep businesses afloat. Inflation remained low.

Bad but then there’s … Brampton landlord renting out sad room where you can’t eat meat or drink in the house

The 2023 homeless count has shattered the stereotypes of where people are living without a home, and who is at risk of being unsheltered.

No longer an urban issue, the count released Thursday shows huge increases in homeless people in the suburbs. For the first time, the number of unsheltered was up in every city across the region: An increase of 159 per cent in Delta, 91 per cent in Richmond, and 86 per cent in the Tri-Cities since the last count in 2020.

Agrowing majority of Canadians believe owning a home has become a privilege that can only be afforded by the rich, a new poll suggests, with nearly three-quarters of those surveyed agreeing.

The Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News and released Friday further suggests two-thirds of Canadians have given up on ever owning a home. That number has also risen since the spring.

“Instead of the dream of homeownership, it is turning into a nightmare for an entire generation of Canadians,” said Sean Simpson, Ipsos’ vice-president of public affairs.

As the fallout from the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hikes continues, fewer homes are being built today compared to the lowest point in the pandemic — the 2020 lockdowns — and it’s going to get worse, an economist says.

The provincial government has repeatedly claimed that Ontario needs to free up more land to build houses, but according to the report, lack of land is not the issue. Instead, the report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives finds that building has slowed because inflation and the high cost of materials has made home building less profitable for developers, and there are fears the market will slow due to higher mortgage rates.