Real Insights by Richard Lyall

Richard Lyall

Construction Expert

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Areas of Expertise

  • Residential
  • Market Analysis
  • New Home Sales
  • Presale
Richard Lyall is president of RESCON, the Residential Construction Council of Ontario. He has represented Ontario's building industry since 1991. To contact him, reach out to media@rescon.com.
Insiders

Lack Of Affordable Housing Is Undermining The Social Fabric Of Society

The social value cost attributed to housing unaffordability in the GTA is about 1.75 times greater than that of cancer in the GTA, according to a new study. Moreover, the social value cost related to housing unaffordability aligns closely with the costs associated with diabetes and represents 76% of the social value cost of heart disease, further emphasizing its impact.

Opinion

Canada's Housing Supply Has Been Choked And Taxed To Death

Red tape and bureaucracy continue to plague our housing system. The development approvals process is too slow and needs to be digitized and streamlined.

Opinion

Why Is New Home Construction Down? Simple, It’s Too Expensive For Builders And Buyers

There are many reasons for the dire situation. Interest rate hikes, rising construction and labour costs, hefty taxes, fees, levies, and exorbitant municipal development charges are taking a toll.

Opinion

Overly Restrictive Construction Regulations Are Hurting Ontario Homebuilding

It's a tricky balancing act, but cities like Toronto need to find ways to accelerate the building of homes, not make it more cumbersome with restrictive noise bylaws.

Opinion

Op-Ed: Greener Building Codes With No Time To Adapt A Disaster For Industry

While it is admirable that municipalities have recognized our collective climate emergency, it is ludicrous to expect the residential construction industry to pivot overnight.

Opinion

Toronto Wanting To Build Rentals Is Admirable, But Lacking In Know-How

To build 65,000 units, the City of Toronto must start producing 11,000 units a year for the next six years. That’s a tall order, in and of itself. But to become their own builder-developer is another thing entirely.

Opinion

Our Housing Crisis Is At A Crossroads, And Cities Must Do More

To make inroads in the housing crisis plaguing our cities, we must focus squarely on systemic issues, particularly at the municipal level.

Opinion

More Can Be Done To Fix Canada's Housing Crisis, But The Feds Need To Act Now

The housing crisis has been widely discussed by the federal government, but what's needed is a dramatic increase in home-building efforts.

Opinion

If You Build It: Ontario’s Housing Crisis Needs Quick Action, Even Quicker Approvals

Ontario's home building approval processes have not improved, and urgent action is needed on this front now, not tomorrow.

Opinion

Toronto's Housing Crisis: Some Mayoral Candidates Get It, Others Certainly Do Not

The Toronto housing crisis is a problem we must solve. Judging by the mayoral race debate, some leaders get it, but many still do not.