Tighter policies attractive to Toronto, Vancouver residents
Angus Reid poll says residents want tighter policies
Ephraim Vecina
REP
A recent Angus Reid Institute poll has found that residents of Toronto and Vancouver are chafing from the pressure of the outsized housing price growth that has characterized the markets in recent years.
The study also found that in both cities, residents indicated a desire for tighter housing policies at the federal and provincial levels, CBC News reported.
Among their preferred measures are restrictions on the number of properties that foreigners are allowed to buy, and speculation levies for those who don’t pay provincial taxes.
56% of Toronto’s residents said that they are laboring under the burden of soaring home prices. 13% added that they would like to see costs fall by 30% or more, and 22% said that a 10% price decline can make ownership more accessible to would-be buyers.
“The people of Greater Toronto are certainly more alive to [inflamed price growth] than they were three years ago,” the Angus Reid report stated.
Toronto’s location was deemed the leading factor fuelling price growth, followed by low interest rates and foreign investors.
As for Vancouver, Angus Reid found that nearly 75% of residents polled believed that housing costs have become “unreasonably high”. 20% of respondents said that prices need to shrink by 30% or more, while 29% said that their budgets would welcome at least a 10% drop.
Vancouver’s home owners cited foreign buyers, wealthy investors, and the market’s desirable location as the top 3 factors propelling price growth.
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