karamysh via Getty ImagesWhen people complain about the big jump in the cost of housing in Canada’s major cities, a common response is, “well, Toronto (or Vancouver or Montreal) is becoming a world class city, and world class cities are expensive.” True, world class cities are expensive. But what’s also true is that those world class cities to which we like to compare our Canadian cities also have affordable suburban areas. This matters, because affordable suburbs are one of the things that make world class cities’ expensive inner cities sustainable. It’s this relatively high cost of the suburbs that suggests the high house prices in Toronto and Vancouver may not be sustainable in the long run. Without affordable homes nearby, the exodus of millennials from Toronto and Vancouver might just be beginning.

Source: Huffington Post June 10, 2019 21:22 UTC