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The Current

What to do with the glut of unsold condos?

6/22/202620 min

The condo boom in Toronto and Vancouver has gone bust and thousands are sitting on the market -- in the midst of a housing affordability crisis. So what can be done? 

We hear from Michael Fedychshyn of Building Ontario Fund about its deal to bulk buy thousands of units in the Greater Toronto Area, Condo developer Pouyan Safapour, about how to stop the boom and bust cycle and build units people actually want to live in Carolyn Whitzman, author Home Truths: How to Fix Canada's Housing Crisis.

Clips

Bigger Units, Cheaper Builds
Developer Bailout Debate
Who Can Afford These Condos?
$3B for Empty Condos Questioned
Turning Crisis Into Opportunity
Backward Condo Sales Model

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Speaker 10:00

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  2. David Ridgen0:14

    [upbeat music] This is a CBC podcast.

  3. Matt Galloway· Host0:18

    Hello, I'm Matt Galloway, and this is The Current podcast. For years, the condo markets in Toronto and Vancouver had two problems, sky-high prices and not enough supply. But for the last five years, it has been exactly the opposite. Sales have hit a 35-year low and thousands of units are sitting unsold because people don't want or can't afford to buy them. Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney and British Columbia Premier David Eby announced a new housing affordability measure, including a plan to turn empty condos in Vancouver into affordable housing. Other governments and developers are also coming up with plans for all those empty condos, and we're gonna hear a few of those ideas over the course of the next little bit. First, I'm joined in studio by Michael Fejtaishin. He is the CEO of the Building Ontario Fund. It's an arm's-length agency backed by the province of Ontario. He's with me now. Michael, good morning.

  4. Michael Fedyshyn· Guest1:08

    Morning, Matt. Thanks for having us.

  5. Matt Galloway· Host1:10

    Thanks for being here. You announced a plan recently to buy up, what, 2,200 unsold condos in the GTA, and you wanna convert them into rental housing. This is a partnership with a private investment company. How's it gonna work?

  6. Michael Fedyshyn· Guest1:22

    So the concept is quite simple. Um, we, through an open and competitive market call process, solicit proposals

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