London mayor's state of the city speech outlines plan for new homeownership program

London Mayor Josh Morgan says he's using his provincially granted strong mayor powers to bring forward a new homeownership program that would have the city and builders cover development fees for new builds.

If approved by city council, the program will apply to new homes listed below the average selling price in London.

The city will cover 60 per cent of development charges, in partnership with the London Homebuilders' Association, a lobby group representing builders, which will cover the remaining 40 per cent.

The London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors says the average price of a home in London is just under $630,000. Development charges can range from between $20,000 and $50,000 depending on the type of home, according to the association.

"We've made tremendous gains on rental housing, but we continue to lag on homeownership," Morgan told more than 1,200 people at his annual state of the city address in RBC Place London on Wednesday morning.

"If you can build a home below those [sales] levels, the city and housing community with partner with you and pay those fees throughout 2026."

Although single-family homes are above that range, sitting at under $800,000, it can help with resale inventory and townhouses, said Jared Zaifman of the association.

"It's giving some more opportunity where we see more people coming through the entire sort of housing spectrum where maybe they could purchase their first home and have the opportunity in the future to get into that single family home," he said. "I don't know right away if it'll do that, but hopefully down the road it will."

The city's budget for the program will sit around $5 million and its share will come from either the Building Faster Fund or the Housing Accelerator Fund given to Ontario municipalities.

Morgan acknowledged the move wouldn't help everyone in the city, but he anticipates would encourage between 200 and 300 first-time homebuyers to make purchases.

"There's flexibility certainly in the Housing Accelerator Fund, where we've already met our targets to try an innovative program," Morgan told reporters after the event.

"What we have the opportunity to do here is to prove that if you bring down the cost a little bit, that home ownership can make a movement. And if we show that, then we can go to our provincial, federal partners and say this is a program that works. Let's see if we can put this on a bigger scale."

Morgan's directive will go to council in early February. If approved, the program would be piloted until the end of 2026.

If it's a success, the city would lobby the province and Ottawa for help to continue it.