Unlike basement and carriage suites, non-profit social #housing, actually provides safe, secure, and affordable housing for people in perpetuity. With waitlists over 10 years long for non-profit/social housing, why not prioritize subsidies to this sector?.

Even adding on the Canadian Pension Plan, a single senior on an OMERS pension can't afford a studio apartment in Toronto.

When members of Ontario's municipal employee pension (one of the largest plans in Canada) retire, they will receive on average $33,769 annually, so even 2 pensioners could not afford a studio apartment from OMERS-backed Oxford Properties in Toronto. #onpoli #pensions.

It remains one of the most baffling parts of the system that public pension plans invest in #housing that is not affordable to their members.

It's exciting to see cities like #Winnipeg taking city-owned land and turning it into housing. These projects include nearly 40% affordable, supportive units, and indigenous-led development. We'll be watching the public hearing process on this one 👀

"For every month delayed, $70,000 in interest costs will be added to the project. but the true impacts will be felt most by the 74 people in need of housing who have had their hopes kicked down the road." - @jfatkey on #PoCo supportive housing. #bcpoli.

"Even the most efficient for-profit developers cannot house the lowest-income Canadians at truly affordable rents without public support. Doubling down on market supply without a smarter strategy will not deliver real affordability.".

According to CMHC's latest Social Housing Survey, there are only 600k homes available to over 40 million Canadians. Per capita, that looks like just under 0.015 homes per person. France has 482x more social #housing units/person. We need more social🏘️.

If cities like Toronto continue to be held hostage by NIMBY attitudes, what hope do folks in smaller towns and cities have to see housing need meaningfully addressed? "Parking and privacy" - when did parking become more important than housing people?

RT @HousingRsrch: Our latest newsletter is out! See what @ubcHART and the @BSHNode have been up to so far this summer at the Housing Resear….

Thank you to @KahlonRav for your service to the housing sector in BC - we know you'll tackle Jobs with the same enthusiasm and generosity as you approached housing. We congratulate and look forward to working closely with @christineeboyle on this vital portfolio moving forward.

It's great to hear Minister @gregorrobertson.bsky.social address the need for non-market and co-op housing in addition to more housing overall. It'll take 10yrs to get enough🏘️built, but the most vulnerable need affordability now. From @CBCOnTheCoast:

"Any minor inconvenience. is nothing compared to what it felt like to live in fear of being evicted at the whim of a property owner for their own use or for renovations. and to be vulnerable to a landlord who might not know or care about rental law".

RT @EricDLombardi: A home should be your life’s biggest purchase, not investment. The value of homeownership should be that, by retirement….

People keep arguing that falling prices would send the economy into crisis. Those people need to take a look around - we're already in crisis. With rising housing precarity and homelessness, it's time to prioritize shelter over speculation. New blog:

CMHC's latest Rental Market Update shows a mixed bag:.👍 Advertised rents are⬇️from Q1 2024. 👎 Advertised rents are still up to 44% more than occupied rents (⬆️precarity).💲 Rent-to-income ratios continue to deteriorate, 👉 more instability in the future.

Notably, the people who would BENEFIT from these homes and services are effectively silenced through this process. See HART research on how current models of community engagement hurt communities and examples of alternative models here:

According to 100+ housing professionals, non-profit housing providers, and community groups in our research, existing neighbours have disproportionate power over housing and services development, effectively blocking 000s of necessary beds and homes.

The quote that young Canadians "overwhelmingly want to buy a home" is not only inaccurate, but it fails to recognize that purchasing is currently the only way to achieve security of tenure. Without ample purpose-built rental options, Canadians won't be given a real choice.

In Vancouver, rental vacancy is *essentially zero*, and investors are rapidly purchasing condos and other housing to rent out because they can charge upwards of $1k PER ROOM.