Our organization’s public awareness campaign was launched earlier this month, on April 2. The objective is to demystify the development and home-building process in the GTA, and to have a dialogue with residents about the housing challenges facing the region. I would like to thank the hundreds of residents who submitted questions at BuildingAnswers.ca for us to answer over the past three weeks.

Here are the top three questions:

1. How will the challenge of affordability affect our ability to purchase a home?

By far the largest number of questions we have received pertain to people’s ability to afford a home in the GTA. Questions included the challenges of finding rental properties and the status of purpose-built rental buildings in the region. Questions came from a wide range of residents — from young and old, to single parents and single-income families. Where means was the challenge to home ownership, we directed individuals to assistance programs. We also informed residents about alternatives and considerations.

The solution to affordability relies on the ability of the GTA to fix the housing supply shortage to meet the housing demands of the 115,000 new people that arrive in the region every year.

In order to house the present and future population, we need more than just homes for purchase — we need housing for rent, purpose-built rental and social housing. The barriers are complex but, simply put, industry, government and the public must find ways to build more housing faster and to mitigate unnecessary delays and costs on new housing.

2. Why is there so much development in the GTA?

The answer is that the GTA is a desirable place to live, from both a quality of life and economic perspective. It includes factors such as natural growth, rural-to-urban migration, migration from other parts of Canada and immigration from other countries. These new residents need places to live, work and play. The region already has a housing shortfall. Since 2006, the GTA has fallen short of the provincial growth plan forecast by approximately 100,000 new homes. The problem is exacerbated by continued strong housing demand.

So, while residents of the GTA view cranes and graders as part of the problem, they are actually part of the solution as the industry builds to meet growth.

3. Why so dense?

Why are new communities so much more dense was a question that was asked a lot. Many of the questions were prompted by nostalgia — “When I was young ...” — to issues of space — “I just want a little elbow room.”

This question can be answered in two parts. First, government regulations, like the growth plan, require development to be denser. Second, land values have escalated significantly since 2006, requiring more efficient land use in order to keep new housing prices affordable.

Please visit buildinganswers.ca to submit your question.

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