Leaders mull options to cool Toronto’s hot housing

Federal, provincial and municipal leaders met to discuss Toronto’s housing situation on Tuesday, but concrete measures to cool the booming market will likely have to wait until the Ontario budget is delivered later this month.

Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau, his provincial counterpart Charles Sousa and Toronto Mayor John Tory said they will work on sharing more data and to ensure compliance with existing tax rules as part of their effort to dampen the Greater Toronto Area market, which saw March home prices jump 33 per cent from a year ago.

The trio also agreed to make it easier for new affordable housing projects to be streamlined through the planning process and said they would begin meeting quarterly to discuss the overheated market.

But any firm action will likely have to wait until the next provincial budget from Sousa on April 27.

“We know one of our most critical responsibilities is to ensure a healthy, competitive and stable housing market,” said Morneau.

“We spoke today about the importance for all of us at all levels of government to collaborate to ensure we consider the issue of housing and we consider how we can work together to create and ensure affordable housing but also to protect the investment of Torontonians and people in Ontario.”

In the short-term, the trio agreed the last thing the region needs is anything to fuel demand in the marketplace.

Although minor, Ontario did make it easier for firsttime buyers to purchase a home by doubling the maximum land transfer tax refund to $4,000 in January.

“Short-term we have agreed to refrain from introducing new measures for buyers which would impact housing price in the GTA by boosting demand,” said Morneau. “We know that having a meeting and displaying our collective goals of ensuring that the market stays stable is going to have an impact on speculative behaviour … because we are saying we are serious.”

He pledged the Canada Revenue Agency would dedicate resources to ensure compliance in the real estate sector in the GTA with tax laws but later indicated changes to the capital gains tax, something Ontario has lobbied for to slow the market, are not on the table. CRA will work with the province to increase tax compliance through land registry records.

While not saying how he would address the market in his budget, Sousa said the meeting with his counterparts was important as it addressed speculator activity and vacancy rates as constraints to supply.

“The matter is urgent, people are expecting action. It is needed now,” said Sousa. “There is frustration, there is anxiety, there is anger out there they cannot get into the marketplace. We recognize that and do not want to put anyone in harm’s way. We’ll be acting soon.”