Local Housing Rules Are Making Housing More Expensive
Planning
Outdated parking requirements, unnecessary design rules, and restrictive zoning continue to limit where and how homes can be built.
Slow Approvals
Lengthy approval processes, unnecessary studies, and unpredictable timelines delay housing while driving up costs.
Government Taxes
Sky-high development charges and land transfer taxes add tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of every home.
287,000
… housing starts Ontario is behind on its goal to build 1.5 million homes.
Source: Ontario; CMHC 2026
Year | Total | Target | Shortfall |
|---|---|---|---|
Total | 304,053 | 600,000 | 287,666 |
2025 | 62,561 | 150,000 | 87,439 |
2024 | 72,118 | 150,000 | 77,882 |
2023 | 85,770 | 150,000 | 64,230 |
2022 | 91,885 | 150,000 | 58,115 |
Community | Average Sale Price | Median Household Income |
|---|---|---|
Bracebridge | $737,243 | $85,000 |
Orillia | $685,933 | $71,000 |
Midland | $536,132 | $69,500 |
Collingwood | $736,853 | $82,000 |
Wasaga Beach | $570,471 | $76,000 |
Owen Sound | $444,194 | $63,200 |
Stratford | $609,679 | $77,000 |
Kincardine | $698,556 | $101,000 |
Centre Wellington | $879,053 | $101,000 |
Guelph | $778,565 | $93,000 |
Sources: Statistics Canada 2021 Census Data, OnePoint Association of REALTORS® Residential MLS® Sales for August 2026,
Local Home Prices Are Out of Reach
Across the OnePoint region, home prices have become increasingly disconnected from household incomes. In many communities, the average home now costs many times more than what a typical household earns in a year, putting homeownership further out of reach for working families.
Governments should focus on removing the barriers that drive up costs and make it easier to build the housing Ontario needs.
Our Solution:
More Homes that Local Families Can Afford
Improving housing affordability requires action to reduce municipal costs, modernize planning rules, speed up approvals, support missing middle housing, and ensure communities have the infrastructure needed to grow.
OnePoint is calling on municipalities to focus on practical reforms that will increase housing supply
OnePoint’s 10 Point Plan to Build More Homes:
-
Modernize Zoning & Density Requirements to Build More Missing Middle Housing
-
Unlock Municipal Land for Housing
-
Speed Up Housing Approvals
-
Fast-Track Affordable and Rental Housing
-
Lower Development Charges Beyond 2028 & Oppose the MLTT
-
Reduce Parking Requirements
-
Remove Technical Rules & Barriers to Building
-
Create an Affordable Housing Strategy
-
Pre-Approve Housing Designs
-
Incentivize New Housing with Grants/Programs
Local Consumers Want More Housing Options & Better Affordability
84%
…are worried about the next generation’s ability to afford a home.
88%
…support speeding up approvals for affordable and rental housing projects.*
…support using surplus government land to build affordable housing.*
80%
80%
…support reducing or capping municipal development charges to lower cost of new housing.*
…support lowering development charges for small infill housing projects.*
…support allowing four-unit homes in existing neighbourhoods.*
78%
69%
*May 2026 Nanos survey commissioned by OnePoint. It surveyed 769 residents of Owen Sound, Kincardine and Collingwood from April 18–28, 2026, with a margin of error of ±3.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20
OnePoint REALTOR® Solutions to Ontario’s Housing Crisis
Ontario’s housing challenges can’t be solved with one policy or program alone. Housing is a system interconnected with infrastructure, planning, labour, taxation, and the broader economy.
That’s why effective housing solutions must tackle multiple issues at once: from lowering taxes to innovative new solutions to speeding up approvals and ensuring affordability.
Tell Your Candidates
Let’s Build More Homes
The municipal election is happening October 26, 2026.
Candidates want your vote. When they knock on your door, ask them these questions:
-
If elected, will you oppose new municipal land transfer taxes that make buying a home even less affordable?
-
If elected, will you support lowering development charges and speeding up development approvals?
-
If elected, will you support zoning changes that make it easier to build townhomes, multiplexes and other missing middle housing?
Get Out the REALTOR® Vote
REALTORS® live, work and do business in every community across the OnePoint region.
Your vote matters!
Make a plan to vote on or before Monday, October 26, 2026.
You can vote if you are a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years old, and live in or otherwise qualify (e.g. own property) as an elector in the municipality.