On Nov. 21, I published an op-ed titled “Backward Beliefs About Housing Shaping the Debate on Rezoning” in the Calgary Herald, making an analogy that compared the housing market to the market for new and used cars.
I argued that like housing, building new cars moderates the price of used cars, and that without new cars, the cost of used ones would rise in value and make them unaffordable. We saw this play out a few years ago, when COVID-related supply chain restrictions disrupted global car production.
I stated that a backwards belief about housing was that “most housing opponents ignore the data and buy into a lie that we can make housing more affordable by changing very little and building even less.”
On Nov. 29, another Calgary Herald Op-Ed claiming to refute my argument was written, articulating the very backward beliefs I referenced, titled “Blanket Upzoning Didn’t Deliver Affordability.” So it’s a fair question to ask: Is the Housing Strategy working? Rezoning and all?
In August 2024, the Calgary Real Estate Board reported housing prices for detached homes, duplexes, rowhomes, and apartments had increased in price anywhere from 10 per cent to 16 per cent, year over year. This is the starting line for rezoning, as it came into effect that same month.
By October 2025, slightly over one year later, those same homes saw an average decrease in prices by 4.1 per cent. The biggest price drops? Row-homes and apartments have dropped in price 5.6 per cent and 6.9 per cent, respectively.
And rent? Rent in Calgary is down 7.5 per cent since last year.
In the absence of any dramatic moves by higher orders of government to spur housing investment and construction (which have my full support), encouraging a functional housing market is our best route to affordability for Calgarians. Building homes at a pace that responds to demand, and seeing prices go down, is our only pathway to affordability under current conditions. This takes time, and the constant building of homes.
However, my critics paint a black and white picture. They argue that “for Calgarians trying to enter the market, the only question that matters is whether a family can buy or rent a home it can afford. If the answer is no, the policy has failed.”
That’s a high bar. The only policy they would deem successful is one that flips a switch on housing prices. If they have a policy that drops the price of land and new construction by a few hundred thousand dollars per home, I’m all ears.
But even if they don’t, following their argument would mean that the very restrictive policies of our past that led us into the housing crisis have also failed. So why does this group, apparently so concerned about affordability, want to return to a past where affordability was even worse than it is today?
A return to housing days gone by?
I trust the half-dozen “Calgarians for Thoughtful Growth” will acknowledge that what they propose isn’t a solution in waiting, it’s a return to the policy failures that got us into this mess.
The authors do try and poke holes in my used car analogy, but they end up only displaying their misunderstanding even further. They claim that “If you want cars to be more affordable, you don’t crush every used Corolla and replace it with new SUVs.” They’re right, you don’t. This is what would happen under the old planning rules. You’d replace a low-priced home with a larger one, more than double the price, replacing Corollas with Mercedes.
To belabour the analogy further: What rezoning allowed was the recycling of a 70-year-old Corolla, and replacing it with four new Corollas – a bungalow becoming four row-homes.
The very system the authors are demanding us return to is the very system they end up critiquing.
It is imperative that our housing policy decisions be made with sound arguments and information. To do otherwise is negligent and risks the livelihood and security of thousands of Calgarians.
As our population count approaches the 2-million mark, Calgarians need homes – not housing opponents masquerading as affordability advocates.
- Courtney Walcott is the former city councillor for Ward 8, and an advocate for more housing through Calgary’s Housing Strategy
