High home prices? Mississauga is dealing with it too

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie says her city is well equipped to keep housing prices affordable as sky-high prices seen in Toronto's red-hot real estate market spreadinto the suburbs.

In an interview Monday on CBC Radio's Metro Morning, Crombie said prices for a detached home have increased20 per cent from last year, with the average now well above the $900,000 mark.

She said Toronto's soaring market doesn't fully explain why prices are have risen so sharply in Mississauga.

Crombie said Mississauga now home to more than 700,000 people has plenty to offer.

"Mississauga is a very desirable place to live, a place that people dream of living," she said, citing improved public transit and effortsto develop Mississauga's lake shore. "Our housing prices are soaring, just like everywhere else."

Crombie said Mississauga has formed a housing panel that will look at ways to use money raised through development cost charges to buy affordable housing units.

She said she also supports "inclusionary zoning," a measure thatforces developers to replace any rental units taken away by new condo developments.

And she said Mississauga hastaken stepsto make basement apartments legal.

"I guess the nomenclature today is workforce housing, so that people who work in your community can still afford to live there."

She said Peel Region is buying affordable housing units, a move she said has helped reduce the wait list for subsidized housing from 21-years to five to seven years.

Crombie said she's hoping the federal government will help by developinga national housing strategy and providing money for social housing.

"We very hopeful that the Trudeau government recognizes the need to address the affordable housing situation right across the country."