Building more houses does…

Building more houses does not solve the housing crisis when the majority of people can't afford to buy a home. This move is clearly motivated by selfish greed and profit. The government needs to remember their job is to serve the public not developers.

A true solution to solving this crisis first requires acknowledgement that there is no one simple solution. This is a multi-faceted problems and requires a multi-prong approach.

At the root of it all is income disparity. Minimum wage won't even solve the problem. Governments today regulate businesses on tax, employment/labor laws, insurance, etc. Where is the regulatory control over profit sharing? I would like to agree with the libertarians who want to minimize government over-reach if people upheld some sort of values, but leave it to individuals and they selfishly prioritize their own gain over the collective good for all. We need a taxing system or forms of regulation to ensure profits are distributed in an equitable manner and that people are receiving equitable increases in salary year over year.

Education. It costs too much to go to college or university and many university programs (especially), offer too many degrees that yield no practical results. We need post secondary to be quicker, qualitative , and less costly. Education shouldn't be all about profit too. With the ability to find jobs needed in the market sooner due to more accessible and efficient education, comes the ability to save sooner and find an income to support oneself. More affordable education also allows one to re-educate without taking a considerable financial burden, limiting their potential.

Social housing. Not everyone needs a house or wants one. But they need to live somewhere and these days with the profit over everything mentality, rent is not affordable either. Government needs to invest in social housing for various income levels to avoid only the poor living there, creating integrated communities that live together, see businesses and community grow there , in turn providing more opportunity for all.

Build with community in mind. Too often we see a huge mass of single unit homes or town homes built in effectively the middle of nothing. No schools, no stores, no shops, no cafes, no schools. At best you are within 20 minutes of costco. This drives up the cost of homes in the areas that are actually walkable and more attractive which eventually drives up the cost in these sub-urb areas once nobody can live in the cities/towns. Developers need to be held to re-investing in the community. Try developing industrial areas or commercial spaces no longer in use but that are within walking distance of attractions people desire and need day to day. Try re-zoning areas meant for single unit homes to include options for multi-unit homes. Then slowly expand.

Seniors. Yes the boomers are part of the problem. They don't want to leave their house with the white picket fence. They live alone and can barely maintain the upkeep while a family elsewhere crams into an apartment. Senior care has been and is still abysmal. We need to focus on government funded senior care that is attractive to them and provides quality care. Again not everything can be about profits. Without that they refuse to leave their homes. Their should be tax incentive to those that do, or at least choose to open up their spaces for rent. The same should go for multi-generational homes, a choice many are left with making as result of no other options.

Credit. Mortgages right now must remain flexible but once the income issued is resolved credit should be limited to a rate times ones income. Extending this only furthers the housing problems.
Foreign investors should be heavily taxed or out-righted banned in certain scenarios. Further those with more than one home must be taxed further to de-incentivize excess fixation on growing's ones own wealth over the common well being of all.

Our problem isn't just a housing problem. Its a problem with prioritizing profit over everything else. This issues affects everything eventually. Re-instating plots of land within the green-belt as land available for development will not solve for this. It may instead create ecological issues, affect our farming, and water supply. This in turn down the road could just exacerbate the housing problem by driving up the costs outside of these now no longer desirable areas to live in.

Admitting that we have a bigger problem and not simply a housing supply issue is the next step. Shovels in the ground can be part of the solution when done right. However, when profit is the only motivation across all facets of society, we all fail to prosper.