Press review of late March

In this last half of March, we have retained the subject of the welcoming of Ukrainian refugees in the context of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia; a downward trend in the number of housings starts in the province; the presence of CORPIQ on the program Le débat hosted by Denis Lévesque on the LCN channel; and the reaction of CORPIQ to the budget tabled by the Quebec Minister of Finance.

It is important to remember that in a spirit of international solidarity, the Canadian and Quebec governments have proposed the implementation of a reception program for Ukrainian refugees. Canada is home to the 2nd largest Ukrainian community in the world. It must be said that several organizations have participated in this surge of solidarity, including property management companies, Municipalities, but also real estate owners ready to offer housing to nationals. Moreover, CORPIQ conducted a survey among its members which showed that 95% of them were ready to rent to refugees. We would also like to highlight the testimony of the General of CORPIQ, Benoit Ste-Marie, in an interview with the Journal de Montréal, where he said: "Quebec landlords are good people who are used to helping people in need. We can all be proud to see them answer the call to promote the welcoming of Ukrainians."

In the real estate sector, there is a downward trend in construction starts in Montreal and Sherbrooke for the month of February 2022. Thus, we noted in La Presse that according to a study of the APCHQ, there were much less properties built compared to the same date in 2021. On the other hand, other municipalities experienced increases, including the city of Gatineau, which saw an increase of almost four times over last year. In short, there was a 40% decrease in the construction of apartment buildings. According to this same study, at the level of Canada, one noticed an increase of 8 % in the number of new housings starts.

CORPIQ also obtained great visibility by appearing in a debate hosted by Denis Lévesque on the LCN channel. In a debate lasting more than 20 minutes, the General Manager of CORPIQ recalled how landlords are constrained by a whole series of regulatory measures as well as an economic context that drastically reduces the profitability of properties and weighs on construction costs. He also spoke about the way public funds are spent on the accessibility and affordability of housing in Quebec.

It is in the context of a real estate overheating and a lack of rental supply that the Quebec government announced its 2022-2023 budget. CORPIQ salutes the sums injected for housing accessibility, notably through the financing of the rent supplement program; however, the problem of rent setting criteria remains, and this prevents adequate long-term maintenance of the housing stock. A revision of the criteria would stimulate renovation and a better rental offer.  On the other hand, the budget was less well received by the APCHQ, which would have liked to see incentives for the construction of residences, since home ownership would make it possible to free up housing. According to an RBC Bank survey, more and more people want to put off buying a home, partly because of inflation and rising prices.