2025 Ontario Housing Platforms: Who Should You Vote for as a Buyer or Seller?
The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) has graded the 2025 Ontario housing platforms of the Province’s major political parties, and the results could directly impact your ability to buy or sell a home in the coming years. Housing affordability, supply, and regulations are key issues that shape Ontario’s real estate market, and each party has a different approach to solving these challenges.
If you’re a buyer, you’ll want to know which policies will lower costs, increase inventory, and make homeownership more attainable. If you’re a seller, you need to consider how market conditions will shift based on supply, demand, and incentives for potential buyers. Even if a party doesn’t have an extensive housing platform, the status quo could still work in favour of one group over another.
So, who has the best housing platform for buyers? Who benefits most as a seller? Let’s break it down.
Matt’s Stats
- Average Ontario Home Price (End of 2024): $865,287
- Projected Increase in Home Sales for 2025: 8.6%
- Projected Number of New Homes by Green Party: 2 million over the next decade
- Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC): Plans to build 1.5 million homes over the next decade.
- Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP): Aims to build or acquire 300,000 units of permanently affordable non-profit and co-op homes, plus 60,000 units of supportive housing.
- Ontario Liberal Party: Proposes eliminating development charges on new housing units under 3,000 square feet, potentially reducing construction costs by up to $170,000 per home.
- Green Party of Ontario: Commits to constructing 2 million new homes over the next decade.
If you’re a buyer, you’ll want to know which policies will lower costs, increase inventory, and make homeownership more attainable. If you’re a seller, you need to consider how market conditions will shift based on supply, demand, and incentives for potential buyers. Even if a party doesn’t have an extensive housing platform, the status quo could still work in favour of one group over another.
So, who has the best housing platform for buyers? Who benefits most as a seller? Let’s break it down.
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC)
The PCs are taking a supply-focused approach, aiming to streamline housing construction and boost inventory. Their key initiatives include:
- Encouraging Modular Housing: The PCs plan to promote modular housing construction by offering innovation guides for financing and permitting, helping increase supply quickly.
- Expanding Infrastructure Investment: The party has committed up to $15 billion over three years to accelerate key capital projects, including road expansions that could open new areas for development.
- Reducing Red Tape for Builders: The PCs aim to simplify building approvals and speed up the construction process to get more homes on the market faster.
Implications:
- For Buyers: Increased housing supply could help cool home prices, particularly in areas where modular housing expands.
- For Sellers: More inventory on the market might lead to slower price growth, but better infrastructure could boost values in newly developed areas.
Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP)
The NDP’s Ontario housing platform is focused on affordability, tenant protections, and increased density. Their key proposals include:
- Doubling Affordable Housing Supply: A commitment to dramatically increase affordable housing options.
- Legalizing Fourplexes Province-Wide: Aiming to allow four-unit residential buildings on single-family lots, increasing density in urban areas.
- Boosting Density Near Transit Hubs: Encouraging mid-rise and high-rise developments near transit to improve accessibility and reduce sprawl.
- Tenant Protections: The NDP wants to eliminate the auctioneer exemption (which allows certain landlords to bypass normal bidding rules), restore in-person hearings at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB), and strengthen rent control measures.
- Supporting Co-Ownership Models: Creating frameworks to help multiple buyers co-own multiplex homes more easily.
Implications:
- For Buyers: More affordable housing choices and new pathways to homeownership through co-ownership options.
- For Sellers: Increased housing density may drive demand in transit-accessible areas, boosting property values in certain neighbourhoods.
Green Party of Ontario
The Greens take a long-term approach, focusing on housing supply and sustainability. Their proposals include:
- Building Two Million Homes in 10 Years: Aiming to aggressively ramp up supply to ease affordability issues.
- Legalizing Fourplexes Across Ontario: Supporting increased density by allowing four-unit housing on single-family lots.
- Eliminating Development Charges and Land Transfer Tax for First-Time Buyers: This policy would reduce the financial barriers to entry for young buyers.
Implications:
- For Buyers: A surge in housing supply could help moderate home prices and increase available options.
- For Sellers: The increased housing supply may limit future price growth, particularly in areas with significant new development.
Ontario Liberal Party
The Liberals’ Ontario housing policies are geared toward affordability and reducing barriers to homeownership. Their major policies include:
- Eliminating Development Charges on Small Homes: Removing these fees for housing units under 3,000 square feet to make new builds more affordable.
- Abolishing the Provincial Land Transfer Tax: This exemption would apply to first-time buyers, seniors downsizing, and non-profit homebuilders, significantly lowering the upfront cost of buying a home.
- Implementing Rent Control Protections: They propose fair, phased-in rent control to prevent sudden and excessive rent hikes.
Implications:
- For Buyers: Lower upfront costs make homeownership more attainable, particularly for first-time buyers and seniors.
- For Sellers: Buyer incentives could fuel demand for existing homes, potentially driving prices higher.
Market Implications of the 2025 Housing Platforms for Buyers and Sellers
With the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) forecasting an 8.6% increase in home sales for 2025, Ontario’s housing market is expected to stay active. But each party’s policies will shape how things unfold:
- If you’re a buyer, the Liberals and NDP offer the most direct affordability measures—whether it’s the Liberals’ elimination of development charges and land transfer taxes or the NDP’s focus on affordable and co-op housing. The Greens also make homeownership more attainable by legalizing fourplexes and removing financial barriers for first-time buyers.
- If you’re a seller, your best bet is a market that encourages strong buyer demand. The Liberals’ incentives for first-time homebuyers and seniors downsizing could keep demand steady for resale homes. The PCs’ infrastructure investments may boost property values in growing areas, while the NDP’s push for higher density could make certain urban neighbourhoods more desirable.
The best party for you depends on your personal real estate goals. Are you looking to enter the market for the first time? Do you want to sell in the next few years? While policy changes take time, your vote could help shape Ontario’s housing market for the next decade.
No matter what happens, one thing’s certain: housing will remain a major issue in Ontario for the foreseeable future —and your next real estate move could depend on the election outcome.
Thinking about making a move? We should chat!
