BILD-ing a solid partnership with Habitat for Humanity
I spend a lot of time writing about the GTA’s new homebuilding industry, so when the opportunity came along to help build a home for Habitat for Humanity GTA, I couldn’t resist.
Every year, BILD members volunteer to spend a day on a Habitat construction site building homes for partner families. It’s a very rewarding experience, and I felt privileged to join this year’s group of 20 volunteers at Habitat’s Brimley Rd. site in Toronto’s east end, where 15 townhomes are under construction.
I was thrilled that most of the volunteers belong to our association’s “yBILD” segment: industry professionals under the age of 40, who dedicated a full day away from their busy schedules to give back to the community.
Many of us had limited construction experience and some of the group had never used power tools before. Luckily, Habitat’s team of crew leaders were quick to assign tasks that best fit our skill sets. We were broken up into groups and tasked with painting, trim work, concrete mixing and pouring, rebar cutting and fire stop installations in the underground garage.
It was a lot fun, but don’t get me wrong; it was hard work.
The experience really made us appreciate the amount of effort it takes to build a home. This is something all Habitat partner families learn on their way to home ownership. Each family is asked to contribute a minimum of 500 hours of volunteer “sweat equity” towards the construction of their home, or on a variety of other Habitat projects.
Partner families also attend educational workshops to learn about the responsibilities that come with home ownership.
One of those responsibilities is making timely mortgage payments. Habitat does not give homes away free; in addition to sweat equity, families must pay a fair marketvalue mortgage. What’s different about these mortgages is that they are owned by Habitat GTA, have no interest and require no down payment.
BILD is very proud of its partnership with Habitat for Humanity GTA, and our members have been building homes for partner families since 2003.
We do this because we are strong believers in the value of home ownership and the benefits it brings to families and communities.
A recent study conducted by Habitat for Humanity Canada showed that owning a home contributes to a Habitat family’s improved economic stability, children’s education and overall health. Research has shown that after becoming homeowners, a large majority of families reported improvements in their children’s school grades and social lives. Many families also began to help give back to their community through volunteering.
Today in the GTA buying a new home is becoming increasingly challenging for many residents, not just for low-income families. The price of new lowrise homes — detached, semi-detached and townhomes — continues to grow across the region.
According to RealNet Canada, prices have doubled in the last decade. This is significantly affecting choice in housing type, particularly for first-time buyers.
Lack of serviced land designated for development has significantly limited supply of lowrise homes, while demand has remained high. Meanwhile, government fees and charges on new homes continue to increase in municipalities across the region. Both of these factors have played a significant role in the substantial growth of housing prices in the GTA.
I’d like to thank everyone who shared the experience of building a Habitat home with me. It was a pleasure building with you and I can’t wait to see the finished product as we welcome our partner family into their new home. Bryan Tuckey is president and CEO of the Building Industry and Land Development Association and a land-use planner who has worked for municipal, regional and provincial governments. Follow him @bildgta, facebook.com/ bildgta and bildblogs.ca.