CHBA Kicks off Home Building Week in Canada
This week the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) is celebrating its inaugural Home Building Week in Canada.
Volunteer members on the National Committees and Councils will meet virtually to continue the important work of exploring innovative technologies and construction techniques for both renovation and new homes, addressing building code changes, working to improve development processes, and addressing the challenges facing the industry and Canadians around new construction, development and renovation.
Top of mind for all this year is the strong demand for housing and the insufficient housing supply, which is resulting in surging home prices of all types in markets across the country, as well as lumber shortages and record-high pricing.
“Canadians are some of the best-housed people in the world. But there are still challenges for many in accessing the type of home that meets their needs, in the location they need to be in, and at a price they can afford,” says CHBE CEO Kevin Lee. “And this year’s pandemic has brought about many unexpected challenges. The volunteer members who are getting together this week are passionate about making positive changes in housing for Canadians now and in any circumstances.”
CHBA works on a number of issues related to housing in Canada, and engages member volunteers from across the country and from a variety of professions to provide input, perspective, and direction.
Addressing affordability is always a top priority of the Association. This happens through a variety of channels, including engaging with government on issues like building code changes as the Association seeks to ensure affordable solutions are found before regulations increase costs for home buyers. At the same time, CHBA members are leading on voluntary measures like CHBA’s Net Zero Home Energy Labelling Program, finding the best ways to seek this level of performance now voluntarily while driving down costs. Given the challenges in lack of housing supply, which preceded the pandemic and have been further exacerbated by it, last fall the association completed a Municipal Benchmarking Study to help identify best practices by municipalities across the country that all should aim to meet to help improve affordability for homeowners and be more responsive to get more housing supply on the market to help lower the demand that’s pushing up prices.
“Our members are leaders in the industry and want to provide the best housing they can for Canadians. Canada is a geographically and economically diverse country, but many of the challenges we face apply from coast to coast. CHBA members innovate and share lessons learned amongst each other through the Association throughout the year, and in targeted fashion through our committee and council meetings this week. And the association is always looking for opportunities for industry and governments to work together to tackle affordability, supply issues, and other housing challenges. Home Building Week in Canada is about bringing all of those efforts together,” Lee says.
The week concludes with the 2021 CHBA National Awards for Housing Excellence. The awards program celebrates the best in Canadian new homes, renovations, communities, and residential marketing and the live gala is viewable to the public.
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ABOUT THE CANADIAN HOME BUILDERS' ASSOCIATION
Since 1943, the Canadian Home Builders' Association has been "the voice of Canada's residential construction industry"—one of the most vital and enterprising industries in Canada. Representing some 9,000 member firms across Canada, CHBA members represent every part of Canada's housing industry - home builders, renovators, land developers, trade contractors, product and material manufacturers, building product suppliers, lending institutions, insurance providers, service professionals and others.