海角社区官网

While one report found听REITs charge above-average rents, Iorwerth听said there are usually “sound financial reasons” for this. He also wrote that rent control could discourage private investors from building more rental housing.

The publications听came听on the heels of a number of studies that found “financial landlords,” such as REITs听hiked rents听and听pursued evictions more aggressively than other landlords.

The CMHC publications have raised concerns听from听some housing researchers who fear the agency has departed from its mandate to promote housing affordability.

Critics argue the findings are misleading, saying they omit past CMHC research, disregard relevant studies, have inconsistencies and fail to critically examine the impact of REITs on renters.

Martine August,听an associate professor at the University of Waterloo whose research focuses on the financialization of the housing market, said she found the reports “extremely concerning.”

“It has such a substantial impact on the public perception of this problem and justifies the role of these firms in our housing market, when you have all sorts of advocates and researchers who are pointing to a problem,” she said.

Iorwerth said the agency听wants to increase听housing supply while protecting tenants.

He听said the research may not support existing ideas about REITs,听“but our job is to get the data out there, get the research out there. People want to react to the research, react to the data, that’s fair game.”

The CMHC 听REIT听rents in 海角社区官网and Vancouver are about two-to-five per cent higher than properties owned by other landlords, but the gaps “largely disappear” when adjusted听for location, timing of purchase and operational differences.

In Montreal, it said, REIT rents are 25 per cent higher, but REITs often buy in neighbourhoods with early signs of gentrification and “when controlling for this strategy,” the difference drops.

August said by comparing REITs to all听other landlords, including other financial landlords, “they’re not going to see as big of a difference.” Her research found financial firms as a whole had substantially higher rents听than听other landlord听types.

“By choosing to just focus on REITs, it really doesn’t show the impact of financial ownership, and actually really minimizes it,” August said.

Iorwerth said CMHC focused on REITs because “a lot of the challenges, complaints, observations” are听about them. He said听the report听used economic analysis听and听has听received support from some听industry leaders.听

David Amborski, a professor at 海角社区官网Metropolitan University鈥檚 School of Urban and Regional Planning,听defended the听study,听saying听while REITs听raise rents in renovated buildings, it’s “another question” whether they influence the entire market.

The rent control study听included research from听international reports on rent control, including three that mentioned Canada. In the article, Iorwerth wrote the research听showed that听rent controls decreased supply and听reduced housing quality.

However, Ricardo Tranjan, a political economist and senior researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said听the study itself noted the impact on new construction is not clear.听The report also did not cite听听鈥斕齛n analysis of major Canadian cities from 1971 to 2019 that found no evidence that rent control reduces rental construction.听

Not engaging with the “most robust” and “most relevant” statistical analysis in Canada in recent years seems “disingenuous,” he said.

Iorwerth said the 2020 CHMC report’s approach was too broad, and听the new report听only examined more in-depth studies.

The recent study also said rent controls听could discourage tenants from getting better jobs because they “leave more money in tenants’ hands” and that removing rent control could reduce crime as higher-income renters buy security products.听

Tranjan and听John Pasalis, president of brokerage and market data platform Realosophy Realty, pointed to these findings as evidence that CMHC’s priority is not affordability.

Pasalis听added that听the CMHC听contradicts itself听in the article听by听“banging the drum” on needing more supply but听warning听of an “oversupply” of condo rentals.听

“On the one hand, they’re arguing supply is important to lower prices. Once lower prices are coming 鈥� they’re flagged as a negative side effect that will hurt future supply.”

Carolyn Whitzman,听a senior housing researcher at the University of Toronto鈥檚 School of Cities, said CMHC strayed听from its mandate听to focus on the needs of low- and moderate-income Canadians in the early 1990s,听and听because of this,听“an entire generation” of affordable housing experts left the agency.

Iorwerth said CMHC’s current position is being concerned about “affordability for everybody in Canada.” While听social housing for low-income households is “entirely appropriate,” there’s also an affordability challenge for middle-class Canadians, he said.

“For that, we need more听housing supply across the board. We need more purpose-built rentals, REITs. We need more home ownership,” he said.