Housing a top priority

British Columbians hoping for a break in the housing afford ability crisis have reason for optimism, but will have to wait until Tuesday to be sure. In this week’s throne speech, the provincial government promised an ambitious plan to tackle rising costs and reduced availability in the province’s hot housing market. As with all throne speeches, however, it’s just a teaser for what’s to come: the budget.

On Tuesday, those hopeful renters and homebuyers will see where Finance Minister Carole James puts the money that will be necessary to turn a promise into reality.

Premier John Horgan suggested a combination of taxation, legislation and spending will try to fix the twin problems of affordability and availability.

With taxation, the government plans to hit speculators and make them contribute to solutions to the housing problem. Legislation will focus on tax fraud, tax evasion and money laundering. To increase availability, the government promises to build 114,000 homes over 10 years, including 1,700 this year.

Many of those measures appear aimed at the bogeyman of the foreign or out-of-province speculators who are driving up the prices of homes they never live in. The debate still rages over whether new controls will make any real difference in a market where ordinary homebuyers keep ratcheting up the prices they are willing to pay.

The government also has to be concerned about those who already own homes and fear what happens if the new measures are so effective that house prices fall dramatically. How the province will protect homeowners’ equity while also making homes more affordable is unclear.

The government is treating the housing issue with the seriousness it deserves. Its plan needs to be more than serious; it also has to be effective.