Affordable housing means homes costing less than 30 per cent of median household income, in places where the housing plus transportation costs are less than 45 per cent.

Building new affordable housing in cities across Canada now requires free land, and government grants to pay for construction. It has to be multi-family (apartments, co-ops, condos) in order to be financially viable.

Single-detached houses cannot be built affordable. They typically sell for over $1 million in cities — often double that or more. “Starter houses” are a thing of the past.

We need to build more affordable housing. But the reality is that taxes are nowhere near the levels required for all new housing to be affordable.

We are building some new affordable housing, but not enough to meet needs. New market homes are also needed. They help ease the housing crisis for average- and lower-income Canadians.

Here’s how.

First, today’s expensive new market homes are tomorrow’s affordable homes.

The majority of today’s affordable housing — apartment buildings from the 1960s and ’70s — were once new and costly. Over time, housing ages and becomes less desirable to wealthier buyers and renters, gradually shifting into affordability. Abundant new homes were being added to Canada’s housing stock right up until the mid-to-late 20th century. Then cities imposed zoning bylaws that severely restrict where multi-family housing could be built, shrinking the construction industry and leaving us with a chronic housing shortage

That shortage is the root of today’s affordability crisis. We need to be building far more new, multi-family, market homes to ease the affordability crisis in the future.

Second, more homes helps balance the market.

When rental vacancy rates are low, rents rise. A balanced market is four per cent vacancy. Victoria has had vacancy rates below that for decades — two per cent or less — forcing up rents, year after year. The same applies to the ownership market — low inventory and high demand boost prices.

By contrast, Austin, Tex., recently adopted policies that unlocked a boom in new home construction — reducing parking mandates, speeding up permits, and easing height restrictions. This contributed to a 20 per cent drop in market rents.

Third, new homes trigger “moving chains”.

When someone with more financial means upgrades into a new home, they leave behind an older, more affordable home. Someone else moves into that older home, and another family moves into theirs. Studies have confirmed the moving chain process in cities around the world. Chains can move quickly and free up homes for middle-income and even lower-income households in the area.

Fourth, new homes help absorb new residents.

People move to Canada for jobs, opportunity, lifestyle. If there aren’t enough homes, newcomers compete with locals for the existing stock, driving up prices.

With people competing for a short supply of homes, the housing market is like musical chairs. When there aren’t enough chairs, or homes, someone gets left out. And those most likely to lose are those with the least money.

If we truly care about those less well-off, we need to provide more homes for everyone. More new housing means everyone has more options, and we reduce the demand and competition for older, more affordable homes.

Governments can help preserve existing affordable housing. They can help non-profits buy older rental buildings and prevent them from being scooped up by investors looking to raise rents. B.C.s’ Rental Protection Fund has started saving existing affordable buildings. It’s not cheap, and it won’t solve the housing crisis, but it’s a critical short-term help.

The bottom line is that cities across North America blocked multi-family housing for decades. We’re now living with the consequences. Undoing the damage will take years, and the work must start now. That means allowing more of all sorts of housing: purpose-built rentals, condos, co-ops, non-profit housing, etc.

Cities need to change zoning bylaws and processes to allow and encourage more of all types of housing — especially relatively affordable multi-family homes.

It’s past time for talk. Affordability requires abundance. Let’s get busy.

Dave Thompson is a Victoria city councillor and Capital Regional District director. The views expressed in this article are his own, and not those of the city or the district