Prefab homes seen as the future

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Building homes in a factory would help with the ongoing affordability crisis and lack of supply

Factory-built prefabricated housing is the way to go if the Ontario government has any hope of meeting its target of building 1.5 million new homes by 2031, a new policy report from the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) recommends.

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Entitled Building More, Building Faster, it states that prefabs are a “fast-growing area of homebuilding where homes are constructed in a factory – often using prefabricated 3D components – and assembled at their final address.”

OREA president Cathy Polan said now more than ever, housing affordability needs to be a top priority of the provincial government.

She said while the Ford government is currently concentrating on tariffs, “this could be a Made in Ontario solution, which means building more, building faster, having the manufacturing done in Ontario. We have the resources, the timber, the steel and we have manpower available to create the jobs.

“I am hoping Rob Flack (provincial minister of municipal affairs and housing), is listening to us. This is a solution that might help our economy out and will actually help with the housing crisis. We need affordable housing.”

Authors of the report state that “it’s no secret that Ontario is in an ongoing housing affordability crisis. As a result of increased home prices, economic uncertainty, and a historic lack of supply, the dream of homeownership has been pushed further out of reach for thousands across the province.

“In 2022, the Ford government made the bold commitment to build 1.5 million homes by the end of 2031. If we want to reach that housing target, we need to be building more homes significantly faster than the current building rate. Innovative building techniques and new technologies will be a key part of ensuring we meet this goal.”

The problem, they conclude is clear: “Ontario’s housing supply is not keeping pace with the demand for affordable, accessible housing – and time is running out. Unless dramatic steps are taken, more and more hard working Ontarians will be priced out of the market as homeownership continues to decline.”

Report authors also note that there have been “municipal success stories,” that include:

· Toronto’s Modular Housing Initiative which has resulted in more than 200 homes affordable modular homes being located on city-owned property.

· Peterborough establishing its Modular Bridge Housing Project and building 50 homes in seven months.

· The municipality of Marathon located three hours east of Thunder Bay planning a 20-unit modular home subdivision with a price point of $125,000 for each.

· The city of London halving “development timelines on a 61-unit affordable housing project in 2022 by using a hybrid manufacturing process with factory-built foundation elements and traditional construction for finishing elements, such as the exterior brick walls.”

Despite those wins, Polan, who is based in Bellville, said OREA, has received little feedback from municipal politicians when it comes to prefab homes.

“We need to educate our municipalities, continue to educate the provincial and federal government on the importance they will bring,” she says. “In my own community, we have factory built homes, and you can’t tell that they are unless you go up in the attic. They look like every other traditional home.”

And as far as high land costs are concerned, that issue could be resolved by using surplus municipal lands for housing, says Polan.

Meanwhile the report focuses in on five policy recommendations that OREA maintains would “cut red tape and create favourable conditions for investment to significantly boost factory-built solutions that can eventually scale nationally.”

Key among them being that the provincial government conduct a review of municipal bylaws that pertain to prefab housing, develop blueprints for prefab communities and exempt homes under 1,500 sq. ft. “from government approvals if manufactured by an approved vendor.”

OREA said in a release that the “cost of building, supply chain issues, and economic uncertainty brought on by tariffs are impacting housing construction across the province and beyond. There is a dire need to get more homes to market faster. To fully embrace the benefits of factory-built homes and speed up constructions, regulatory barriers need to be addressed.”