London builders and realtors are weighing in on Mayor Josh Morgan’s new homeownership initiative, which aims to make it easier for residents in London to buy their first home by waiving certain development fees.
The program, announced Wednesday at the State of the City address, is designed to try and help builders reduce costs on new homes, potentially passing savings on to buyers. Some local experts say the program could improve housing supply, but may not make homes significantly more affordable for first-time buyers.
“I don’t necessarily think it’ll put it into an affordable state because there’s still higher levels of building costs when it comes to trades and land is still very expensive,” said Amanda Austin, a London realtor.
She added that while the city’s subsidies for infrastructure like gas and hydro lines can help developers, “whether they would pass that savings on to the market or the buyer would be up to them.”
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From the builders’ perspective, Jared Zaifman, CEO of the London Home Builders Association, said the program could help move some of the city’s backlogged inventory.
“We have a lot of builders that this will certainly help and will help get through a lot of backlogged inventory that’s been existing for the last few years,” he said.
He also emphasized that entry-level homes, like town houses and condos, are likely to see the most impact.
While both groups agree that the program is a step forward, experts do warn that the high cost of construction and market conditions mean first-time buyers may still face many barriers, highlighting the ongoing challenges in London’s housing market.
