Affordable Housing

High housing prices also impact the local labour market

When shelter costs become too high it makes it difficult to retain and attract employees.

High housing costs have a large impact on a community’s economy, their residents’ quality of life and social service costs. Afterall, housing costs are the largest portion of people’s budget; therefore, helping address housing affordability is an effective way to reduce poverty, increase health and wellbeing of residents and boost the local economy.

In fact, shelter is one of the most fundamental requirements of good health.

Inadequate housing and homelessness has an inequitable impact on vulnerable populations, leading to increased illness and premature death from infections (such a COVID-19), cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, mental illness and fatal injuries.

Living in substandard housing can lead to unhealthy means of coping as a result of stress created by poor living conditions.

High housing costs reduce accessibility to resources such as food, employment and income, which are needed to support good health.

Adequate housing directly affects health outcomes of individuals and families. It enhances their ability to access education and employment and participate in the social and economic fabric of the community.

Affordable housing has become one of the most pressing issues today. Ontario recently struck an affordable housing task force, which presented its recommendations in February, 2022.

Not all are convinced the recommendations they make will solve the issue, however.

Economic Impacts

High housing prices also impact the local labour market.

When shelter costs become too high it makes it difficult to retain and attract employees.

Three communities within our region (Barrie, Wasaga Beach and Collingwood) are considered some of the fastest growing communities relative to their population in all of Canada. In Barrie, the rental prices are 6th highest in the country. These factors have contributed to Simcoe County having the fourth highest living wage in the province – behind only three of the largest GTA regions (Halton, Peel and Toronto).

While the province and the federal government have jurisdiction in housing, municipalities play a significant role in housing provision, too. Municipalities make impactful decisions on the type of housing provided, where that housing is located, what type of amenities will be provided and the type of transportation options available.

Approving housing plans that take into consideration equity, affordability, accessibility and appropriateness for all ages and stages is key.

Continuing to mostly provide low density, single detached housing does not meet the needs of a changing population nor does it address the need for rentals and smaller scale units that are more affordable.

Developments that incorporate mixed income housing help ensure there is housing for every person, despite income level.

Reducing Costs

There are planning tools at a municipality’s disposal that should be used to increase the percentage of rental built and available.

Building more complete communities with compact housing design has the additional benefit of reducing both immediate and long term infrastructure maintenance costs for the municipality and taxpayers, and reducing environmental impacts of development, as less farmland and dirt are disturbed when you put more housing units on a parcel of land.

Urban sprawl, or development that is spread out, composed primarily of detached single family homes, and centered on car use to access basic amenities, such as groceries, is expensive to maintain. This results in higher costs for municipalities which, in turn, puts pressure on other services as well as the tax rate residents pay.

These costs often tend to exclude those associated with the environment, including the high carbon emissions resulting from car dependency.

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Did you know?

49% (or 18,847) of tenant households spent more than 30% of their total before-tax household income on shelter costs. Housing (simcoemuskokahealthstats.org)
According to the Barrie and District Association of Realtors, since the beginning of 2022, the average sale price across Simcoe County has increased over 21% with an average selling price nearing $1 million ($930,000)
According to Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Barrie area has an average pre-tax household income of just over $96,000 which according to the CMHC affordability calculator would only qualify a household for a home that is $150,000 or less
Recent job reports show over 11,000 jobs posted within a month across the County and very little uptake especially in the lower wage categories. President of the Barrie Chamber of Commerce attributes much of this problem to high housing costs.

What you can do.

Tax and/or fine developers who purchase land in areas identified for intensification and do not develop it within a set amount of time.
Tax and/or fine developers who have developments approved but do not meet set progress milestones.
Implement Community Improvement Programs (CIP) to refund development charges for developments that include affordable housing units. In municipalities where this exists, such as Barrie, increase the funding to this program.
Review Barrie’s Housing Affordability Task Force report for further ideas.
In the predominantly low-rise suburban context, diversifying the housing supply means adding more gentle or ‘discrete’ density that can blend into suburban neighbourhoods, including the ‘Missing Middle’, which are neither single family homes nor towers. These housing types include: secondary units, townhouses, medium sized multiplexes, stacked fourplexes, side-by-side and stacked duplexes, stacked triplexes, among others.
Communicating with the local neighbourhood is essential in order to achieve greater, more affordable housing diversity, because NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) related opposition is such a problem. Elected officials should see it as their job to promote the benefits of density and affordable housing in its many forms.
Pursue funding for and adopt policies and regulations to encourage purpose-built rental units, accessible units, smaller units within low density neighbourhoods, and family-sized units within mid-rise buildings.
Celebrate wins and the people who need this housing.
Access municipal planning tools such as this one offered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
Highlight the problem! Over 11,000 jobs were recently posted within a month across the County with very little uptake, especially in the lower wage categories. The president of the Barrie Chamber of Commerce attributes much of this problem to high housing costs.