The work of the Homes and Growth Coalition is based on eight middle-class housing principles that recognize that families come in all shapes and sizes, that a diversity of housing options is needed, and that governments should aim to lower the cost of building new homes rather than affecting resale prices. Most importantly, it recognizes that affordability depends on both home prices and incomes; robust economic and income growth must be at the centre of any housing plan. These principles are as follows:
Housing policy should recognize that both higher incomes and lower new home prices are both pathways to eliminating the affordability crisis. The middle-class affordability crisis is larger than home prices, and there are multiple pathways to align incomes with the cost of living. Both higher incomes and lower prices play a role, specifically:
Raising after-transfer, after-tax incomes for young, middle-class Canadians, which can happen through some combination of higher pre-tax incomes, lower taxes, and increased transfers.
Lowering monthly expenses for young, middle-class Canadians by either making goods and services, including housing, less expensive or by reducing the things families need to purchase.
Housing policy should be centred around freedom of choice for all. For young-middle class people and couples, for example, this means they should:
Be able to afford to live on their own and start a family if they wish.
Should not be priced out of their community, nor should they be blocked from moving to one because of housing costs.
Should have a range of entry-level rental and ownership options, not be limited to either ownership housing or rental housing. Both play a vital role in our housing ecosystem.
Should have the economic means to start a family and have children.
Housing policy should focus on lowering the price of basic new housing, not resale. Governments should focus on reducing the “cost of delivery” of new homes to create housing options for everyone, from young people to seniors, and let market conditions determine resale prices.
Time is of the essence. A target to solve the middle-class housing crisis 20 or 30 years from now does little for the 29-year-old who wants a home to raise children.
The goal of middle-class housing policy should not be whether a middle-class person or couple can afford their current circumstances, but rather whether they can afford to move to a new city or have another child.
Families come in all shapes and sizes, and housing goals, benchmarks and targets must reflect that. Families come in all shapes and sizes, from nuclear families to multigenerational families to blended families to single-parent families and single individuals, and policy must recognize that a diversity of housing types and options are needed to reflect the diversity of needs of Canadian families.
Government plays a vital role in both building social housing and setting the underlying conditions for success for both market-rate and social housing. Social housing and deeply affordable housing play a vital role in our housing system, and should be seen as a complement to market-based housing, not a substitute.
Circumstances can change unexpectedly, creating a need for financial security. Unexpected events happen, from a family expecting to add one child to having twins, to needing to move to another city for work, to divorces, to disability, to having an older family member requiring care and moving in. All of these can add unexpected costs, so financial security is vital.