Housing demand continues to push up prices in Ajax and Pickering

High prices and limited supply make it nearly impossible for younger buyers to purchase a home in Ajax and Pickering.

It’s no secret that there’s a housing shortage, says Johnathan Schickedanz, immediate past president of the Durham Home Builders Association (DHBA) and general manager of FarSight Homes.

“And when a product is scarce, prices go up,” he says.

The DHBA is part of the Ontario Home Builders Association (OHBA), and calls on the provincial government to “Cut the ****,” an advocacy campaign that can mean anything from “Cut the Ribbon” to “Cut the Wait” to address Ontario’s housing crisis.

“We need more housing, but we also need the right mix of housing,” Schickedanz says.

With the provincial elections approaching, Schickedanz has his eye on the issue, including bill 109the More Homes for Everyone plan, which recently received royal approval and outlines how the province plans to address Ontario’s housing crisis.

Uxbridge resident AJ Brandon and his wife, Melody, bought their first home, a terraced house in Uxbridge, in 2016 but sold it in early 2020 to move closer to work and found their dream home in Ajax. They lost their pre-approved mortgage just before closing when the rules on CERB income changed.

“It was definitely one of the lowest points of my life; It was very much an emotional roller coaster,” Brandon recalls.

Prices have only gone up.

According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, the median home price in January and February for both Ajax and Pickering was $1.3 million and $1.2 million for both in March.

That includes all types of housing. Pickering Regional Councilman Bill McLean, as well as a member of The McLean Group Real Estate, noted that many still enter the market by purchasing a condo.

“At the end of the day, sometimes it’s cheaper than rent,” he says.

Some clients are selling their homes, downsizing or moving to give their adult children a down payment.

Meredith Kennedy, president of the Durham Region Association of Realtors (DRAR), says first-time homebuyers are being priced out of the market especially.

“We need more affordable housing, whether it’s subsidized housing or just something to get them in the door,” he said, pointing to looser rules on secondary units as one option.

Over the next 10 years, Ontario needs to build at least a million new homes, says the OHBA. In the last decade, only 670,000 homes were built in Ontario.

Schickedanz says it’s important that “the next government… start implementing some recommendations from the Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force (OHATF).”

“There needs to be better consultation with the homebuilding and land development industry, and we need to work collectively to break down barriers and get housing to market faster,” says Schickedanz.

In February, the working group published a report stating that home prices in Ontario have almost tripled in the last 10 years, growing much faster than income. He recommends that the Ontario government add 1.5 million homes over the next decade.

The OHATF says Ontario can quickly create more supply by allowing more housing in more places without needing municipal approval and by making better use of transportation investments. In some urban centers, the province could consider dictating what zoning could be implemented for higher density areas, for example.

Schickedanz says that development apps often sit on municipal desks for too long.

“We need to reduce that time substantially to meet this demand,” he says.

A couple of decades ago, Schickedanz’s developer grandfather waited only a year or two for development approvals.

“But now, for example, the part that we bought from Clarington, we bought it more than 12 years ago,” he says. “The land was within the urban envelope adjacent to the building envelope, so we’re not skipping.”

Says McLean, “There are always delays in any project or application. I would like to see it accelerated but without taking away the value of having comment agencies. Especially the public. The public is the number one feedback agency I listen to.”

McLean says the developer also has a responsibility to build as quickly as possible, rather than sit on a property hoping to sell it for a profit.

McLean sees “no magic bullet” to cool the market.

“I think with interest rates (rising), people are cooling off,” he says. “People are still going to buy. They’re not rushing like they were, which was a good thing.”

— Archived by Moya Dillon

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