The Centre for Urban Research and Land Development at Ryerson University has released a new report that states there is a limited supply of serviced land in the GTA and fewer low-rise homes under construction than in decades past.
“Despite the provincial government requirement that municipalities maintain a minimum three-year supply of serviced and readily-serviced land at all times, most GTA municipalities are not even monitoring the adequacy of their short-term land supply,” the report entitled, Why There is a Shortage of New Ground-related Housing in the GTA finds.
Researchers looked at regional government reports and found that “none of the 905 regions appear to be keeping track of their supply of land with servicing capacity for ground-related housing.” The report calls on the provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to assist in the compilation of a short-term land inventory and requirements for regional reporting.
Meanwhile, the single, semi-detached and townhomes being built across the GTA aren’t keeping up with demand and supply has decreased by half since the early 2000s, from about 30,000 homes in 2001-03 to 15,000 in 2013-14.
The report also linked the lack of housing choice to the sharp rise in prices, which echoes what the industry has been saying for some time. Over the last 10 years in the GTA, the average price of a new ground-related home has almost doubled to $738,731, according to RealNet Canada Inc. data from the first quarter of 2015.
During the same period, existing single-detached homes for sale on MLS climbed by 79 per cent to an average of $666,800, according to the home price index of the Toronto Real Estate Board.
Four distinct recommendations round out the Ryerson study and centres around the critical need for serviced land in the GTA so that housing supply can keep up with demand. To see the detailed recommendations, view the report here.
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