Factory-made homes and 3D printing could help solve housing affordability crisis, CIBC’s Tal says: Advisor.ca
An example of a 3D printed home - Tecla.
CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal predicts the Bank of Canada will cut interest rates to as low as 2.25 per cent by the end of next year, but he says while lower rates will help the economy, they won’t solve the housing affordability crisis, according to an interview with Maddie Johnson posted on Adviser.ca. The only solution is increasing the pace of home construction across all regions, Tal said. He acknowledged the federal government’s recent efforts to expand mortgage insurance and extend amortization periods, but called these a “temporary fix,” because the measures boost demand without tackling the bigger problem of increasing housing supply. To increase supply, governments could explore innovative approaches to construction, such as factory-made homes and 3D printing, he said, noting 80 per cent of homes in Sweden are factory-made and adding, “We are still building houses the way we built 50 years ago,” according to the report.
