Housing discussions have a habit of getting very big, very quickly.
Millions of homes are needed. Billions of dollars are involved. Governments announce major programmes. Developers talk about financing and approvals. Economists debate supply.
Meanwhile, an ordinary person is wondering whether they’ll ever be able to buy a condo or find a rental they can actually afford.
Michael Ruge approaches the Housing Crisis from a different direction. Instead of looking for one enormous answer, he focuses on individual projects that can add housing while still making financial sense.
It’s a practical way to think about a problem that can otherwise feel overwhelming.
A Housing Shortage Built Over Time
In Building Hope in Housing, Ruge describes a Canadian shortage estimated at between 3.5 million and 5.5 million homes.
The problem isn’t confined to Canada. The chapter cites significant shortages in the United States as well, affecting both renters and prospective homeowners.
When supply falls well behind demand, affordability suffers.
But knowing we need more homes is the easy part.
Building them is harder.
Ruge points to development approvals, permitting, charges, planning requirements and financing as some of the reasons new supply can take so long to reach the market.
His answer isn’t to pretend those obstacles don’t exist. It’s to structure projects around them.
Start With What Communities Already Need
One of Michael Ruge’s central development lessons is not to waste years trying to force a project into a location where it doesn’t fit.
He looks for places where municipalities already expect greater density.
If a neighbourhood is moving towards apartments or townhouses, assembling land there may make more sense than buying elsewhere and fighting for rezoning.
It sounds obvious.
But Ruge openly admits that he didn’t always operate this way.
His description of his first decades in development includes mistakes, battles with city hall, difficult rezoning efforts and trying to do too much at once. Those experiences helped shape the model he uses now.
That willingness to talk about mistakes gives his approach credibility. Real estate development rarely follows a perfect straight line.
Keep Properties Productive During Land Assembly
Ruge’s team often starts by purchasing individual houses.
Rather than leaving them empty while waiting to complete an assembly, the properties can remain rentals and generate cash flow.
Eventually, once enough land has been assembled, the site may be sold to a larger developer that takes responsibility for the major construction work.
This allows Ruge’s team to focus on what it does best: identifying opportunities, assembling land and creating viable development sites.
There is also a clear risk-management rule behind the strategy.
Ruge says he doesn’t buy a property unless it can stand on its own. If the neighbouring properties cannot be acquired, the first purchase still needs to make sense independently.
In a business where plans can change quickly, that’s a sensible safeguard.
Reuse What Already Exists
Adding housing doesn’t always mean starting with an empty field.
The chapter gives the example of an unsuccessful office building that was converted into 35 luxury apartments.
Previously underused commercial space became long-term housing.
Adaptive reuse won’t work for every building. But the example makes a useful point about the Housing Crisis: communities can look at existing properties differently.
An obsolete commercial building may have another life.
A collection of older homes may eventually support greater density.
Land near a major employment centre may be better suited to apartments than its current use.
Solving a housing shortage requires building, but it also requires imagination.
Rent-to-Own as Another Route
Michael Ruge also describes a 170-suite rent-to-own project that he is particularly enthusiastic about.
The planned studio suites start at $200,000. The chapter contrasts that figure with average condo prices on the island ranging from approximately $350,000 to $550,000.
The project uses a longer rent-to-own period than many traditional arrangements.
Ruge’s reasoning is that two or three years may not give a renter enough time to build meaningful equity or prepare for ownership. A 10-year structure can provide a much longer runway.
The resident still needs somewhere to live during those years. Under this model, the goal is for those housing payments to help move them towards eventual ownership.
For people who have started to believe homeownership is permanently out of reach, that possibility matters.
Housing and Local Economies Need Each Other
The Housing Crisis isn’t only about where people sleep.
Ruge’s examples from southern Vancouver Island show how housing availability can affect employers too.
He describes businesses that want workers but face difficulty because those workers cannot find suitable housing nearby. One fast-food operator was reportedly prepared to take 25 units immediately.
A community can’t grow sustainably if its workforce can’t live there.
Housing supports employment, and employment supports housing.
That relationship is easy to miss when the conversation focuses entirely on sale prices.
Solving the Housing Crisis One Project at a Time
Michael Ruge doesn’t suggest one developer can fix Canada’s Housing Crisis.
Quite the opposite.
His argument is that the shortage is too large for developers to view one another simply as competitors. Thousands of builders and developers will be needed, creating projects ranging from a handful of units to hundreds.
That may actually be encouraging.
We don’t need to wait for one perfect answer.
An office conversion that creates 35 homes helps.
A 170-suite development helps.
Five units help.
Five hundred units help.
The Housing Crisis was built through years of undersupply and accumulated obstacles. Reversing it will also happen over time.
One property, one project and one new home at a time.
Michael Ruge’s new book “Building Hope in the Housing – How to Solve the Rental Affordability Crisis” will be realeased this fall (2026).
Sources:
NLIHC Releases The Gap 2025: A Shortage of Affordable Homes
Quarterly Residential Vacancies and Homeownership, Second Quarter 2026
Housing Supply: Still Undersupplied by Millions of Units
Building Hope in Housing – How to Solve the Rental Affordability Crisis
Links to Michael Ruge, Affordable Apartments and his Initiatives:
Supply vs. Demand: The Housing Tug-of-War
Ruge Charities – About Michael Ruge
The Do Less, Build More Model: Michael Ruge’s JV Strategy for Solving Housing Crises
Michael Ruge: The Visionary Entrepreneur and Consultant Helping Businesses Thrive
