More and more millennials, starting families, and first-time buyers are getting priced out of the Toronto market
In an October 17 housing roundtable overseen by Toronto mayor John Tory, young professionals voiced grave concerns over the city’s long-running affordability crisis, which has seen more and more millennials, starting families, and first-time buyers getting priced out of the market.
“I want them stay here and I want them 20 years from now to still be here because they can raise their family here and create their careers here and that's why we have to deal with transit and why we have to deal with housing,” Tory told CBC News.
One of the roundtable participants was social media and marketing officer Sarah Robinson, who said that the prevalence of high-priced rental listings within Toronto is leaving her no choice but to look for options outside the city.
“It's to the point where [buying a house in Toronto is] not even a consideration to be honest,” Robinson said. “People talk about, ‘Oh, what would you do if you won the lottery?’ For people who live in Toronto it's like, ‘I would live in Toronto in a house,’ because it's so not possible.”
The allure of relocating outside the city has become a real concern for management and executives, Robinson added.
“It's not insurmountable, but it`s definitely a real fear for bosses,” she said. “And the bosses lose out on young talent and we have a lot to offer.”
Among the recent steps taken by the Toronto government are improvements in approval timelines, along with a major project that would aim to provide $106.3 million worth of living spaces over the next five years. To date, the venture has already identified 15 sites for development, 3 of which are already underway.
“We have to keep at it and we have to do more and we've got to have land from the other levels of governments to make sure that we can have even more of these units,” Tory said.
Related stories:
Where are the most expensive condominiums in downtown Toronto?
New rules ‘not the end of the world’ in Toronto—developer
“I want them stay here and I want them 20 years from now to still be here because they can raise their family here and create their careers here and that's why we have to deal with transit and why we have to deal with housing,” Tory told CBC News.
One of the roundtable participants was social media and marketing officer Sarah Robinson, who said that the prevalence of high-priced rental listings within Toronto is leaving her no choice but to look for options outside the city.
“It's to the point where [buying a house in Toronto is] not even a consideration to be honest,” Robinson said. “People talk about, ‘Oh, what would you do if you won the lottery?’ For people who live in Toronto it's like, ‘I would live in Toronto in a house,’ because it's so not possible.”
The allure of relocating outside the city has become a real concern for management and executives, Robinson added.
“It's not insurmountable, but it`s definitely a real fear for bosses,” she said. “And the bosses lose out on young talent and we have a lot to offer.”
Among the recent steps taken by the Toronto government are improvements in approval timelines, along with a major project that would aim to provide $106.3 million worth of living spaces over the next five years. To date, the venture has already identified 15 sites for development, 3 of which are already underway.
“We have to keep at it and we have to do more and we've got to have land from the other levels of governments to make sure that we can have even more of these units,” Tory said.
Related stories:
Where are the most expensive condominiums in downtown Toronto?
New rules ‘not the end of the world’ in Toronto—developer
