Housing prices have increased 33 percent compared to the previous year in Toronto, and now the provincial government is snapping into action.
"[Ontario] Premier Kathleen Wynne is slapping a 15 per cent 'non-resident speculation' tax on foreign investors to help cool down southern Ontario’s scorching real estate market," reports Robert Benzie.
The 15 percent surcharge on offshore speculators is just one component of what Benzie describes as a "massive plan to improve housing affordability." Other proposals include a "clampdown on domestic housing speculators," improved transparency on the bidding war that have driven up prices, and rent control. The government of Ontario has created a website to explain the Fair Housing Plan in more detail.
In a separate article, Bezie provides more details on the 15 percent surcharge on offshore speculators.
FULL STORY: Wynne to slap 15 per cent tax on foreign real estate speculators
Trudeau Wary of Unintended Consequences in Dealing with Vancouver's Housing Crisis
Prime Minister Trudeau took sides on one controversial issue central to the debate about the cost of housing in Vancouver, but stopped short of suggesting a clear policy agenda for the federal government to improve the problem.
California Law Ends Road Widening Mandates
Housing developers will no longer be required to dedicate land to roadway widening, which could significantly reduce the cost of construction and support more housing units.
'Corporate Landlords and Market Power': Study Surveys the Single-Family Rental Boom
New research documents the growing footprint of large institutional investors in the housing market during the pandemic, converting more and more of the nation's single-family detached housing units into rental properties.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association