Do realtors hold a key to reshaping Canada’s housing sector? There are innovative solutions that can be explored

Canada’s housing supply is at a breaking point, and it’s time for an innovator’s mindset to overcome the barriers hindering progress. The business as usual approach is no longer effective.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, CMHC, has stated that Canada will need to build 5,11 millions new homes between 2022 and 3030 to restore affordability on the market. Canada has never built over two million homes within an eight-year period.

There has been a lot of discussion about the bottlenecks preventing our country from meeting the housing supply challenge — but the biggest barrier is how we’re Think about itAbout the problem 

The ways of the past can’t get us to where we need to be in the future

To revolutionize real estate, we must rethink traditional approaches and embrace innovation. This needs to happen on every level of the eco-system, from government, industry actors, realtors and customers. We also cannot innovate in silos — true change can only come when all stakeholders are on board. And while it’s true that we all have a role to play, we need visionary leaders to lead the charge. 

These leaders need to be willing and able to challenge the traditional ways of doing things. We need entrepreneurs who are willing to challenge the conventional ways of doing things, as well as human-centric realtors and innovative corporations. 

The 2024 Industry Innovation Agenda offers a roadmap that outlines a vision for this kind of vision. It offers goals and strategies in five key categories: leadership and institutions (including the role of institutions), affordability and supply (including low-carbon), climate resilience and capital, as well as optimization and capital. It’s a call to action for industry players to join forces and convert ideas into action.

Office building conversions: A new and innovative approach

Commercial real estate offers an opportunity for innovation. By asking the right question — how can we convert underutilized office buildings into housing units? — we can begin to unpack solutions.

In this case, many office buildings have floor plates that are not optimal for residential conversions. In the past, we would have simply said it couldn’t be done. Looking at the ecosystem as a whole is a more innovative approach.

Imagine a scenario in which office floors become schools, allowing parents the opportunity to drop their children off and then go to their respective workplaces on other floors. By converting offices into multipurpose buildings and combining amenities such as schools and medical facilities with residential units, not only do we create new housing options, but also reduce commutes while improving the overall quality in our communities.

Modular housing, ADUs and other supply solutions: They can go beyond housing

In addition, innovative technologies like modular housing and mass timber can play a key role in tackling this housing supply challenge. The key to unlocking the potential of these innovations lies in understanding what’s possible and then choosing to embrace innovative solutions.

ADUs, which are two separate units that can be built within a single home, such as a garden suite or laneway, are an excellent example of how innovative housing policies can help. Modular housing holds great promise as a way to solve the housing crisis. Realtors, with their professional understanding of real estate and housing issues, entrepreneurial thinking and extensive networks, have a great opportunity — and perhaps even a responsibility — to drive this kind of innovation. 

Imagine the following situation: A family of four lives a detached home on the suburbs and their widowed grandparent or parent lives in another home in city. The family provides daily support, care and transportation to medical appointments. A realtor who understands the needs of families such as this, along with the ADU regulations and market capabilities of modular housing, can help explain how adding an ADU to the senior parent/grandparent’s home creates an opportunity for the family of four to sell their home, move into the primary dwelling unit where the parent/grandparent lives and solve their own housing needs.

This solution goes beyond just housing. This solution goes beyond housing. 

Forward-thinking realtors are in a position to be true innovators in Canada’s housing market. Realtors have strong networks, deep industry expertise and a wide range of relationships. They hold an important key to helping reshape the future of Canada’s housing sector through innovative thinking and strategic collaboration.