CBC Radio's The House: House hunters

CBC News: The House50:04House hunters

On this weeks show: The House is in Halifax to dig into the issue of housing affordability, which is reaching crisis levels in the Nova Scotia capital. People from every side of the issue buyers, realtors, builders talk about their concerns with the red-hot market. Plus provincial Housing Minister John Lohr, NS NDP housing critic Suzy Hansen and federal Housing Minister Ahmed Hussen each discuss how they think politicians can help.

White-picket-fenced out of home ownership

Onecouple who is searching for a house of their own is having little luck in a red-hot Halifax housing market, an example of the nationwide affordability crisis. They've been to hundreds of viewings, only to be outbid again and again.

In a special episode from Halifax, these househunters tell The House about their experience trying to break down the barriers to home ownership. Realtors Angela Cowan and Bruce Patterson discuss what the industry looks like from their perspective. In one word: "unsustainable."

CBC News: The House11:10White-picket-fenced out of home ownership

In a special episode from Halifax, The House hears from homeowners and realtors about the challenge they face in navigating a tight housing market, and the problems with unaffordability.

The broken system and how to fix it

Halifax is at the centre of an affordability crisis in Atlantic Canada, with typical prices for single-family homes rising by 33.5 per cent from February 2021 to February 2021, according to statistics from the Canadian Real Estate Association.

How did this housing crisis, paired with one of the lowest vacancy rates in the country, come to be? Housing policy expert Ren Thomas of Dalhousie University weighs in, as well as Nova Scotia Housing Minister John Lohr. Federal Housing Minister Ahmed Hussen also describes how he thinks the federal government can help. Plus, a homebuilder talks about the challenges companies like his face in actually building more housing supply.

CBC News: The House24:20The broken system and how to fix it

Housing policy expert Ren Thomas of Dalhousie University discusses how housing became so unaffordable. Nova Scotia Housing Minister John Lohr and federal Housing Minister Ahmed Hussen detail how their governments are responding. Plus, a homebuilder talks about the challenges companies like his face in actually building more housing supply.

The spectre of 'renoviction'

For much of the pandemic, Nova Scotia placed a ban on the practice of "renoviction" where landlords evict clients in order to undertake renovations, allowing them to raise rents and remove long-standing tenants. But, as Adele Martell describes, as soon as the ban ended, she and her two sons once again faced the threat of being forced from their rental home.

Martell tells The House about her experience, and provincial NDP MLA and housing critic Suzy Hansen discusses how her party proposes to solve the problem of unaffordable housing.

CBC News: The House11:09The spectre of renoviction

After a ban on renovictions expired in Nova Scotia, some, including Adele Martell, faced the prospect of being forced from their rental homes. She shares her story, and Nova Scotia NDP MLA and housing critic Suzy Hansen discusses her partys approach to the housing crisis.