Additionally, municipalities need to be incentivized to speed up development approval times and actually make a dent in the supply deficit in their communities. We at the BC Real Estate Association strongly endorse tying federal transit infrastructure funding to commitments from local government to increase housing density around new transit stations and major transit corridors. Take, for example, the nearly $15 billion in federal funding for transit infrastructure announced earlier this year. The federal government has other tools that could effectively help improve housing affordability, and yet, it appears they have yet to consider using them. Justin Trudeau/Facebook | Jagmeet Singh/Facebook | Erin OвЂ™Toole/Facebook But without a detailed, coordinated, and collaborative national strategy вЂ“ which identifies roles for all levels of government вЂ“ the goals are not likely to be met and Canadians will once again be left disappointed. To their credit, the Conservatives, Liberals, and NDP have also made lofty promises to build more homes. Other measures proposed, like the banning of blind bidding in real estate transactions, are a reaction to recent heated market conditions but do not provide enough detail or data around effectiveness and implementation to be taken particularly seriously. Increasing support for first-time home buyers without increasing the available housing stock will only exacerbate the ongoing mismatch between supply and demand. But when it comes to housing affordability, the focus needs to expand well beyond obvious measures such as incentives and assistance for first-time home buyers. Many parties have pledged to make home buying easier by increasing purchasing power and flexibility for buyers. The Liberal Party is hoping to win an additional 15 seats to establish a majority government, and with many ridings throughout BC being a two- or even three-way race, BC is an important battleground province. BC has a high number of swing ridings across the province, which is sure to make us a major deciding factor in the election outcome.

In a country where Ontario and Quebec are often heavy influencers of federal politics, this time around BC voters may find themselves wielding far more influence. To ensure the new government is acting in the best interest of British Columbians, we need to be asking candidates and future government to think more holistically about housing affordability. Where additional time and attention needs to be placed is on the creation of a National Housing Strategy that makes increasing supply a top priority. Here in BC, the topics of flipping houses вЂ“ specifically shadow flipping, where a property is sold multiple times before completion inflating the sale price вЂ“ and foreign ownership have long been blamed for the rising cost of homes.ДЄnd while these issues have rightfully been and continue to be examined (the Liberals are proposing further crackdowns on foreign ownership and measures to hinder homeowners from flipping properties) they are but small fish in a big pond that is the BC housing market. 57% of young Canadian voters say federal housing affordability plan will affect election choice.A look inside: A $19.8M Tudor-style mansion in South Granville (PHOTOS).80% of Canadians say low interest rates worsening housing affordability.Singh to target вЂњbig moneyвЂќ house flippers by hiking taxable amount of capital gains.But are they focusing on whatвЂ™s really needed to make a difference? As markets across the country continue to experience levels of activity not seen before, multiple polls place housing among the top areas of public concern.ДЄnd the parties have taken notice, making promises to make homeownership more achievable for Canadians.

Written for Daily Hive by Trevor Hargreaves, Vice President, Government and Stakeholder Relations, BC Real Estate AssociationДЄs Canadians head to the polls to elect a new government later this month, itвЂ™s no surprise that housing affordability is a key campaign issue for all parties.

House flipper buyers