This is a country turning into a nation of renters which is also a ticket for suppressing wealth accumulation.
A report from RBC Royal Bank says it is increasingly difficult for people who are renting a place to live to become people who own a place to live. Rising housing costs – including increased rents, higher interest rates and lagging construction of new properties – are squeezing the average person and their ability to save for a down payment.
And, given that owning a home is the primary source of wealth accumulation for most of us, this pushes a growing segment of our population towards dependency rather than economic liberation.
One reason for the problem is tight supply. Builders are not keeping up to population growth as high interest rates deter investment in new properties but –and perhaps more importantly — governments are making it hard for them.
A report for the country’s home builders noted that delays in approvals make new properties more expensive. In Toronto, a chronically expensive market, it can take up to three years for a developer to get approval. In Saskatchewan, it is four months.
