Secondary suites have long played an invaluable role in our economy, offering affordable housing for many workers who are vital to keeping our economy vibrant.

The Chamber applauds Monday's announcement that will see less red tape for homeowners who want to add secondary suites — which also creates income that helps with the cost of living. As well, an incentive administered by BC Housing will provide a forgivable loan to qualified homeowners of up to $40,000 to add a secondary suite. The unit must be on the property where the homeowner lives and rent for less than market rates.

The province has prepared the Home Suite Home guide to provide more info on programs that incentivize the creation of new rental housing.

The provincial government has capped the allowable rent increase to 3.5% for 2024.

Landlords who plan to raise rent in 2024 will need to provide tenants with three months notice using the correct form and following specific rules.

BC's Minister of Housing, Ravi Kahlon, said costs are increasing for landlords and tenants. The need for affordable housing well documented, but many property owners are facing higher costs for repairs, financing and maintenance. The province claims the 3,5% cap will keep people housed while making sure rental units stay on the market.

The rent increase cap does not apply to commercial tenancies, non-profit housing with rent geared to income, co-op housing and some assisted-living facilities.

A report released Wednesday morning offers a tangible take on how many new homes need to be built in Canada to restore affordability.

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation said that the slowing economy and growing population have changed the forecast for where housing is most needed.

We need about 3.5 million new homes by the end of the decade, with BC and Ontario dealing with the largest gaps between supply and demand. The predicted shortfall has grown since last year as the CMHC forecasts a slowing economy, tougher financing climate and stretched labour force will result in less construction.

"For British Columbia, higher estimated household numbers in 2030 and slightly lower estimated income per household lead to a relatively neutral impact on overall demand," the report states. "Still, the supply gap increases because of a lower projected number of housing units that will be built."

The CMHC said its analysis shows the importance of modelling demographic changes as well as economic conditions when planning policies to increase housing supply.

The latest sales figures show a slight increase in the number of homes for sale, though the demand for housing continues to affect the cost of living in our region.

According to the Victoria Real Estate Board, there were 2,490 listings at the end of August. That's up 2.9% from the previous month and higher than the 2,137 homes listed in August 2022.

"The focus in our market and by all levels of government needs to be on opening up more supply," VREB chair Graden Sol said in a news release. "Our inventory levels, though up from last year, are still too low to support a well-balanced market. A decade ago, we saw over 5,000 active listings in August."

Sol noted that many listings were for single family homes, which are at the top of the residential market.

"Missing middle homes, such as townhomes and condos represented only 37.1% of listings for sale," Sol said. "Townhomes, which in my experience are what a lot of families hope to purchase, represented only 9.8% of the residential properties for sale. This imbalance in the mix of housing options means there is the potential for more price pressure on these types of properties because demand is concentrated at more attainable price points."

The benchmark value for a single family home in August was $1,323,900. That 's up $5,100 from July but down $3,800 from last summer.

Housing supply is at the core of Chamber advocacy. Greater Victoria, like much of North America, is facing a crunch — not enough homes are being built to meet demand. This affects the cost of living for employees, delays people from starting a family and impacts the availability of shelter for people experiencing homelessness.

A group of Canadian housing sector organizations recently released the National Housing Accord: A Multi-Sector Approach to Ending Canada’s Rental Housing Crisis. The report offers 10 solutions that aim to focus the efforts of all levels of government and industry on policies to support more building.

"It's a bit of a Catch 22 in that we need skilled tradespeople to build homes so that the market has enough supply for skilled tradespeople to be able to afford to live here," Chamber CEO Bruce Williams said. "The lack of housing affects people at all income levels but is particularly concerning for people early in their careers and those who have the added costs that come with raising kids."

Housing supply is emerging as the root of many challenges facing Greater Victoria and the economy of Canada as a whole. To try and address some of the foundational causes of a lack of housing, the Community Social Planning Council has released a toolkit for local government. Local Government Levers for Housing Affordability addresses how housing affects everything from "staffing shortages to wage pressure to homelessness."
 
The document gathers policy tools that have been used successfully by large and small municipalities across the country.