TORONTO, May 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Torontonians are giving City Council failing grades on housing affordability, according to a new poll from Ipsos, one of Canada’s top research firms. The poll also shows housing and the cost of living as top issues for voters heading into the June mayoral by-election.
“Toronto may not graduate to top-tier global city status if this feedback on housing doesn’t improve,” said Paul Baron, President of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (“TRREB”), who commissioned the poll. “Voters are telling the mayoral candidates it’s time to do your homework on housing, and that starts with facilitating more supply.”
The May 2023 Ipsos poll of 801 Toronto residents found the following results:
- 54% give council a poor grade on addressing housing affordability with 23% selecting D and 31% giving an F.
- 89% of Torontonians say the next mayor needs to make housing affordability a top priority.
- 93% of residents say we are in the middle of a housing affordability crisis.
- 79% of residents say we need to build more homes.
TRREB outlined its housing affordability solutions for the June mayoral by-election candidates in an open letter to voters published today. TRREB’s top three priorities for the election are implementing the City’s 2023 Housing Action Plan, including expanding housing options in neighbourhoods; no new taxes/fee increases on housing; and strengthening the municipal land transfer tax rebate for first-time homebuyers.
“We have to build 285,000 homes in Toronto by 2031 if we’re going to keep up with demand,” said John DiMichele, CEO of TRREB. “The next mayor must double down on the 2023 Housing Action Plan. We can’t afford to go backwards on housing supply.”
Cost of living was another top issue identified by voters in the Ipsos poll with 84% of residents saying they are concerned about their ability to afford living in Toronto.
The next mayor has to look for ways to put more money in people’s pockets to help them with the high cost of living. When it comes to housing, that means building more affordable homes, keeping property tax increases balanced, and revisiting the punishing municipal land transfer tax, especially for first-time buyers.
Here are some other highlights from the May 2023 Ipsos survey commissioned by TRREB:
- Key issues facing Torontonians are cost of living (59%), affordability of housing (44%), crime (36%), lowering taxes (23%), safety on public transit (22%), and jobs and the economy (22%).
- 84% of Torontonians are concerned about their ability to afford living in Toronto.
- 84% are concerned about their ability to buy a home, rising to 91% among likely buyers.
- 88% are concerned about the ability of the next generation to buy a home in Toronto.
- 90% are concerned about affordability of rental units (including 56% that are very concerned).
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Note
*The Ipsos survey was conducted through the Ipsos online I-Say panel among City of Toronto residents. A sample of 801 residents of Toronto aged 18+ was surveyed from April 24 to April 28, 2023. Weighting was employed to balance demographics to ensure that the composition of the sample reflects the population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the results are considered accurate to within +/- 3.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had all Torontonian adults been surveyed.
Media Inquiries:
Genevieve Grant, Manager, Public Affairs genevieve.grant@trreb.ca 416-443-8159
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board is Canada’s largest real estate board with almost 70,000 residential and commercial professionals connecting people, property and communities.
www.trreb.ca/
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