"The real reason homes in Canada's big cities are unaffordable"

"Why the difference? It’s not just location, location, location, argues a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute.

In ‘Gimme shelter: How high municipal housing charges and taxes decrease housing supply,’ Benjamin Dachis identifies “development charges, land transfer taxes, and murky density bonus payments as partial drivers of reduced supply and soaring house prices for would-be buyers.”

In a well-functioning housing market, the market price of a home is close to the cost of construction. If prices are higher than that, Dachis says, it is often because regulations or government policy is inhibiting new construction and creating an artificial shortage."