The London Development Institute (LDI) and London Home Builders’ Association (LHBA) threw their support Friday behind the recent federal budget, calling it “a genuine effort” to increase housing supply, support new home buyers and make housing more affordable.

“We think there is a significant effort here, we are really happy to see this,” said Jared Zaifman, chief executive of the London Home Builders’ Association. “They want to double the housing built over the next few years. This is a genuine effort. This crisis has been building.”

The two local organizations pledged to work with the City of London to access Housing Accelerator Fund cash, to be funneled through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., though there are few details about how money will be distributed and where, said Mike Wallace, director of the London Development Institute.

“This looks like an opportunity for municipalities to obtain funding for projects that will accelerate, and approve, applications to improve the housing supply,” he said. “We are happy to work with the city and look at opportunities to obtain some of that money.”

The development community has been lobbying the city to fast-track approval and building of new homes to increase supply, exactly what this fund will address, Wallace said.

The accelerator fund aims to build 100,000 new homes over five years.

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