Red tape, labour shortage preventing homes from being built, says home builders' association
Tariffs top of mind for building contractors and suppliers
Increased costs, red tape and labour shortages are preventing more homes from being built in Newfoundland and Labrador, according to companies that attended the Canadian Home Builders' Association's (CHBA) annual expo in Mount Pearl over the weekend.
Two weeks out from the federal election, Alexis Foster, executive officer of CHBA-NL, says she is looking to see what parties are proposing to make building easier.
"By doing that we will create more housing supply which will impact housing affordability," Foster told CBC News.
St. John's is dealing with a housing shortage. Last year, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that rental vacancy rate in St. John's bottomed at 1.5 per cent.
Election candidates are promising ways to boost home construction. The Liberals say they will create an entity to oversee the construction of affordable housing, and the Conservatives say they will give money to municipalities that increase home building.
Foster says she is happy to see both parties promise to cut the GST on new homes.
"It's so hard now to be able to qualify and afford a home. So, anything that helps eliminate those barriers to entry is phenomenal," she said.
She also hopes to see the government reduce barriers that slow down development.
For example, she says CHBA-NL is combating municipal regulations that allow "not in my back yard" mentalities.
"It's just making people realize that by building more supply, we are helping everybody be able to access homes," she said.
Lack of labour
Many exhibitors inside the home show displayed signs indicating they were hiring workers.
Foster says the lack of labour supply is preventing the construction of homes in the province, and that the CHBA is trying to encourage youth and newcomers to work in the trades.
Curtis Mercer, CEO of K&P Contracting, is seeing that shortage. He says there aren't enough people to build the new homes, adding it takes nine or ten months to build a typical 1000-square-foot home today, compared to the five months it used to take.
"All of our trades are short on staff, everybody's busy," said Mercer. "So we're actually building less.… We need to find new ways to build more with the amount of people that we have in the trades."
Mercer says he is also paying close attention to the federal election, looking for incentives and funding any of the parties are promising to put into the industry to help move builds along.
Tariffs top of mind
Mercer says tariffs are top of mind for builders and clients, who are already asking if they should expect prices to skyrocket, and if they should delay investment.
"We're expecting it is going to be similar to COVID," he said. "Where materials aren't going to be as readily available."
Tariffs are also top of mind for TrueFoam Newfoundland, who had their booth decked out in "Buy N.L." logos.
Regional manager Paula Mills says they're trying to make homes more affordable by selling energy efficient insulation, which is manufactured in Bishop's Falls.
Right now, the company services Atlantic Canada, but Mills says if there are changes to interprovincial trade, they would consider shipping to western Canada.
"I'm hoping that Donald Trump comes to his senses," said Mills. "We're hoping that whichever party ends up being our prime minister, that they will work out a fair agreement."
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With files from Julia Israel