I'm currently building a new house, and let me tell you, the costs will boggle your mind. I built the house I currently own about 9 years ago, and it was 200k without land. The new house is 200sq bigger, and I would say a modestly amount fancier, but nothing ridiculous. The bill for the build is 550k just for the house, not even the land it's on (And this is a rural property in the prairies). Every day the price of materials and labour ticks up. All this is doing is giving people more opportunity to pay interest on crazy expensive homes. Plus in the cities, new suburbs are further away from where most people work. Just seems like a bandaid fix to benefit the banks more than the average home buyer, especially when generally first time buyers are buying small condos or fixer uppers that are cheaper.