Ontario Election 2018 – What’s in it for real estate?

In this blog post, Tembo Financial Inc. will analyze the election platform for the Progressive Conservative Party (PCs) and will outline what the official opposition is proposing to do for real estate professionals, prospective homebuyers, and homeowners if it were to replace Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals as the province’s governing party.

1.    Local Infrastructure Fund

This is being touted to create jobs and build infrastructure in small communities.

2.    Investment in Parks and Green Infrastructure

Investing some money to make certain green spaces across the province more user friendly.

3.    Increased access to apprenticeships, doubling the loans for tools program

This will stimulate people learning an apprenticeship, and could be beneficial to the real estate and construction industries hungry for skilled apprentices.

4.    Transit

The PCs are making a big push to invest $5 billion over 4 years on top of existing funding into new subways, particularly a downtown relief line which Tembo discussed previously. They will also upload the administrative and maintenance costs of Toronto’s subway system from the TTC while allowing the TTC to keep all the fairs. In return, they want the city to build more LRTs – especially a connection from the soon to be completed Eglinton-Crosstown to UofT’s Scarborough campus. These initiatives will spur development, improve property values, and stimulate construction.

5.    Selling transit station air rights to developers

Self-explanatory, the PCs want to develop long along and by transit stations to create more housing stock.

6.    Reforming the Planning Act

To reduce permit delays, cut red tape, and to stimulate more housing construction and development by sending a clear signal to municipalities.

7.    Reviewing the province’s property portfolio

In other words, see what the province owns or has rights to and look to sell chunks of it to developers so they can build. Think underused or vacant parking lots, undeveloped land, wills, etc.

8.    Reforming planning processes

This will encourage municipalities to update their planning and zoning processes and to update them routinely so as to send regular signals to developers about what and how to build, the goal is to ultimately increase supply in the long term.

9.    Reforming planning processes

This will encourage municipalities to update their planning and zoning processes and to update them routinely so as to send regular signals to developers about what and how to build, the goal is to ultimately increase supply in the long term.

Overall the PCs are promising to make big new investments in transit and to increase housing supply. The full platform with all of its proposals is available here: https://www.ontariopc.ca/peoples_guarantee

Disclaimer:

Tembo Financial Inc. is non-partisan and looks forward to analyzing the party platforms of the Ontario Liberal party and government and of the third party NDP. Let’s hope that the 2018 election sees issues of housing supply, affordability, and infrastructure discussed thoroughly and qualitatively.