Ontario housing measures expected to have short-lived impact, experts say
Toronto’s runaway real estate market could take a breather due to Ontario’s new housing measures, but much like what transpired in Vancouver, the impact of the changes is expected to be short-lived, experts say.
Premier Kathleen Wynne announced more than a dozen new initiatives aimed at reining in prices that have soared out of reach for many homebuyers, including a 15 per cent tax on non-resident speculators in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, a fast-growing region that stretches from the Niagara Region to Peterborough, Ont.
The province is also expanding rent controls and giving Toronto and other municipalities the power to impose a tax on vacant homes, something that Toronto Mayor John Tory has been pushing for.
“Ultimately at the end of the day, you probably end up in a situation where the market absorbs the tax and keeps pushing higher,” said BMO economist Robert Kavcic.