GOHBA Press Releases

If you’re building a new home, thinking about one, or have bought lumber for a home renovation project recently, you’ve likely seen media reports about supply constraints and sharp price increases in wood products — specifically pressure-treated wood, plywood and framing lumber. A big part of what you’re seeing now is the lag effect from…

The health and safety of workers and homeowners is the priority while navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. This requires an increased focus on health and safety considerations on renovation jobs or warranty work in a new home. The Association has worked with a number of partners, health authorities and regulators to develop protocols for working in…

May 5, 2020 – Housing affordability in Ottawa has declined from “affordable” in 2005 to “seriously unaffordable” in 2019 according to the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GOHBA) and the Frontier Centre for Public Policy (FCPP). In anticipation of the City’s discussion on a growth management strategy for the new Official Plan, GOHBA asked FCPP…

May 2, 2020 – The Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GOHBA) released maps of potential intensification areas in Ottawa’s core today to illustrate what a City of Ottawa staff’s recommendation to increase housing intensification from 40% to 60% could look like if it were to go ahead. “The City will not release maps that detail…

On April 3, the provincial government announced restrictions to residential construction and renovation activity – essentially ordering that current builds/projects could be finished, but no new ones could be started. Members of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GOHBA) support the government’s move to combat COVID-19 while enabling the completion of already-started new homes and…

I spend the majority of my time in this space on planning and development, and what the residential construction industry talks about when we’re at city hall. This necessarily means talking a lot about new homes and new development projects, both inside and outside the greenbelt. But, there’s another side of housing activity that also…

One of the unheralded things GOHBA members do is think about the needs of future homeowners – those who’ll buy a home not only in the next year or two, but five, ten, twenty years down the road. How to ensure that there will be a variety of homes to choose from, that they’ll be…

Often when I speak with people about the Home Builders’ Association, they picture in their mind new subdivisions – single family homes, semi-detached and townhouses mostly. And while subdivisions are an important part of new homes in Ottawa, GOHBA home builders also build every other type of home you can think of: condos, both in…

On March 19 the federal government will deliver its final budget before the national election in October. This is important for Ottawa residents because the federal government sets the rules for mortgage insurance and financing to purchase a home. Home Builders’ Associations operate at the municipal, provincial and federal level. So, when you join the…