According to a new report from the Fraser Institute, the rules and fees that the City of Calgary imposes on homebuilders is negatively affecting growth in the city.
The agency says in a new report that despite council speaking about increasing density, policies in Calgary are forcing homebuilders into outlying communities.
The group says the faster approval times and lower costs both result with homebuilders looking to do business outside Calgary city limits.
When it comes to residential development regulations, the Fraser Institute ranked Calgary 10th out of 12 municipalities in the Calgary-Edmonton corridor.
The organization says that with lower costs and fewer roadblocks for developers, the city will be overlooked by developers.
“If the City of Calgary really wants to attain its stated goal of increasing density, then it should align residential development regulation with the surrounding regions and stop stunting new development with excessive red tape,” said Kenneth Green, senior director of Natural Resource Studies at the Fraser Institute.
Green says that with the supply stifled and the demand still high, house prices will continue to go up in Calgary and throughout Canada.
“People are concerned when the prices are high and want to bring them down but the focus tends to be on individual elements like foreign investors and people flipping houses and things like that rather than the overall question of is the system set up so that supply can meet demand in real time?”
The report also found that developers are in for more of a fight from city council, community groups and Calgary city staff than in any other community the Fraser Institute looked at.
The Fraser Institute’s rankings are below. You can read the report here.
*Calgary-Edmonton corridor municipalities (least regulated at the top):
- Strathmore
- Foothills No. 31
- Cochrane
- Airdrie
- Okotoks
- Edmonton
- Sylvan Lake
- Chestermere
- Red Deer
- Calgary
- Rocky View County
- Strathcona County
