The new housing legislation introduced by the province on Wednesday aims to make it easier to buy a home in Ontario, but some say it will not have the impact the government hopes for.

Experts say those currently in the market looking to buy will not benefit from the offer.

The new bill, called ( More Homes for Everyone ), offers several solutions to the current housing crisis, including increasing the tax on foreign homebuyers, more consultations on "unavailable affordable housing," and streamlining the approval process for building homes.

Building more and bringing new homes to the market to meet demand is theoretically supposed to fix the housing crisis, but real estate professionals say costs will continue to rise.

Realtor Doni Mangos said, "I know the cost of building here. Everything is expensive. Doing this in a hurry will inflate costs even more." "So I don't think it will ease affordability at all."

"Homes will be expensive when they are brand new. This will meet the needs of the other unaffected party in the market, and they are not the ones who are really hurt right now. Mangos explained that the people who are hurt are first-time homebuyers who cannot enter the market."

Michelle Gilbert, a realtor in Toronto at Sage Real Estate Ltd., said.

“Data from Statistics Canada showed that non-residents owned only about 3.4 percent of all residential properties in Toronto five years ago. Therefore, the foreign buyers’ tax only affects a small segment.”

She said foreign buyers were probably initially deterred from buying properties in the area when the tax was originally applied in 2017, but their attitudes have changed since then.

Gilbert added, "Foreign investors quickly realized, even with the setback, that our market is still a safe haven for their money, and they already see this tax as just a cost of doing business."

"So, by adding this additional 5 percent, I do not expect it to affect the amount of foreign buyers investing in the Greater Toronto Area."

Developers ready to build will see a streamlined process for creating more homes, and industry leaders say this could be a game-changer for making housing available to all people of any income level.

However, David Wilkes, president and CEO of BILD GTA, said this new legislation represents a cultural change in the province.

Wilkes said: "This is really an acknowledgment by this government that we need to fix affordability problems by providing supply in the market."

"Anytime you bring more supply to a market where demand exceeds supply, you will notice a flattening or leveling of cost increases regardless of the nature of that market. We expect this will also be the case in the housing market."

Home prices in Ontario have nearly tripled in the past decade, far outpacing income growth, but the province has 1.2 million rented and owned homes.

The province's plan to accelerate development also means local governments need to purchase and implement new policies, which has not always happened.

While the goals are similar—to provide more homes—the ways to achieve this can differ.

Mayor John Tory commented Wednesday on the urgent need to increase the housing supply in Toronto.

"The goal for us is the same. Increase the housing supply and especially increase the supply of affordable housing.” 

The bill also includes the ability to expedite approvals for projects such as new community centers and hospitals. The province says any public notices or consultations that would normally be part of the process will no longer be required.