York Region misses housing affordability targets for 5th straight year

Only 11 per cent of new units built were affordable, including only 26 units for ownership

Newmarkettoday.ca
July 5, 2023
Joseph Quigley

York Region is struggling to get affordable housing built as only 11 per cent of new units met that threshold in 2022.

The region is targeting a 35 per cent affordability rate in major transit station areas and 25 per cent elsewhere, with ownership units needing to be $564,326 or less and rental units needing to be $1,861 per month or less to meet the affordability threshold. But regional totals fell well short of the goal, particularly in the ownership area, where only 0.75 per cent of new ownership units in 2022 were affordable.

“There is need to take strategic action to address York Region’s affordability challenges and ensure that York Region’s growth targets are met,” region staff said in a June 15 report.

The region has faced problems getting new development to meet affordability marks for several years, with housing prices far outpacing the wage increases. The 11 per cent mark is a significant increase from 2021’s four per cent, attributed to a rise in rental housing and household incomes. But the region is still falling well below what it achieved from 2013 to 2017, when it averaged 39 per cent of new units as affordable.

This has particularly been an issue in terms of ownership. In 2022, only 26 new units for ownership met the affordability threshold out of 3,457 new ownership units total. Similarly, in 2021, the region saw only 10 new affordable units for ownership built.

“The lack of affordable ownership opportunities puts more pressure on the rental market to provide affordable options,” a staff report said.

Trends for prices and income have continued to make housing affordability an issue in all areas, the region said. Since 2012, average resale home prices in the region have gone up 135 per cent, compared to a 37 per cent increase in average household income.

This is all impacting regional population. Although the region is attracting many immigrants to maintain a growth rate, it has been identified as having the highest intraprovincial migration rate in the GTHA, along with Toronto and Peel, losing more than 18,000 between 2016 and 2021.

“Residents are moving due to a lack of affordable housing options within established neighbourhoods. This trend is expected to continue until more affordable housing options are built in York Region,” a staff report said.

The report said the solutions will require all levels of government and partners to work together.

“Work in collaboration with partners and local municipalities to find innovative solutions continues, as will monitoring of the affordability of housing across York Region to support evidence-based approaches to addressing housing challenges.”