52 per cent of Canadians said reducing prices was necessary, while only 35 per cent felt prices should be kept stable. Thirteen per cent of respondents were unsure.
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Carolyn Whitzman, senior housing researcher and adjunct professor at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, said it was noteworthy that 47 per cent of people aged 55 or older also wanted housing prices to decrease. She didn’t expect so many older Canadians to feel that way, especially compared to 51 per cent of people aged 35-54 and 59 per cent of 18-34 year olds wanting the same outcome.
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Federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson sparked controversy earlier this year when he said that prices should stay stable, rather than drop.
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However, it would take decades of stagnation for wages to grow enough to a point where housing becomes affordable, Ms. Whitzman said.
Fuck polls. Do people want the grocery prices to go down as well? Can’t say, unless a poll is done I guess. Polls either may be right or they may be wrong but we seem to let the poll results push us down certain paths without any further research being done.
Generally, yes. Polls are a terrible way to decide policy. But politicians have been using them to stay in power since the 90s (at least). So it’s worth keeping an eye on them.