Canada must strive to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney’s immense housing-expansion goals that call for millions of new homes over the next decade, says a leading multi-family real estate executive.

Howard Paskowitz, vice-president of development and public affairs for Starlight Investments, told Connect that Carney’s aim is “not a small task,” but the future homes will be critical to their residents.

“Regardless of how difficult the task at hand is, we can’t afford not to try,” he said.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the country needs between 430,000 to 450,000 new homes per year just to meet current demand. Many of the new residences are expected to comprise multi-residential projects containing either condominium or purpose-built rental units. When it comes to meeting Carney’s goal, Paskowitz said, it is better to build some, rather than none, even if the target is not reached.

“I don’t think we can afford not to try every possible solution,” said Paskowitz. “Unfortunately, we’re in a deep hole here in Canada.”

He applauded the federal government’s new Build Canada Homes program, the largest of its kind since the post-World War II era. The program is focused on supporting large-scale, affordable, factory-built and pre-fabricated housing. Paskowitz noted that it bridges the Multi-Unit Building (MURB) cost-allowance program, which allows developers to deduct building and depreciation costs from other income, making multi-family rental project more appealing, and reduced development-cost charges.

He said the Build Canada Homes program is not just good policy but realistic amid the challenges of today’s homebuilding landscape.

“We think it’s all great, and we look forward to seeing how the policies will be implemented,” said Paskowitz.

Continued collaboration between all levels of government, industry and private-and public-sector organizations will be crucial, he added.

Paskowitz likened the government’s situation to a football team’s owner and general manager wanting to win more games by scoring more points without being able to do that on their own.

“Those coaches and players that are the people on the field, those are the ones that need to sustain the tactics, and I think you need alignment in order to ensure that we do attack this housing crisis,” he said.

In terms of purpose-built rentals, the program will build off the success of the Housing Accelerator Fund, enabling homes to be built faster, he added. HAF is a joint federal-provincial-municipal funding scheme that aims to increase housing supply quickly.

By providing substantial financial backing for the prefabricated housing sector and securing bulk orders, the Build Canada Homes program will lay the foundation for a thriving factory-built housing ecosystem across the country, he added.

“So, this should speed up the delivery of housing,” said Paskowitz. “And if you accommodate $5 billion in financing and $1 billion in equity support, the program is enabling prefabricated manufacturers to scale up operations, adopt new technologies and invest in workforce training. This strategic approach not only strengthens Canada’s domestic housing supply chain, which is needed more than ever right now, but encourages innovation and off site construction and green- building methods over the long term.”

The ecosystem will also expand access to a wider range of affordable and sustainable housing options, offering an additional solution to addressing critical housing shortages in communities across Canada, he added.

Starlight is particularly enthusiastic about Carney’s commitment to cutting development-cost charges for multi-unit housing by 50% for five years.

The move, Paskowitz added, will help reduce financial barriers to development and improve project feasibility, particularly in high-cost markets.

But, he said, a broader suite of co-ordinated measures is needed across all levels of government to make the projects financially viable and scalable.

“Again, it’s going to take co-ordination and alignment of all levels of government, including the municipalities in which we build and, I believe, getting the input and assistance from the private sector to ensure we all achieve our shared goal of creating more housing.”

Pictured: Starlight Investments’ Ledbury Park Towns rental-townhouse project in Toronto.

Image: Courtesy of Starlight

“Continued collaboration with all levels of government, industry and stakeholder will be crucial. I think the objective is solving the housing crisis, and we know that the strategy is to increase the supply.”