The 2024 Housing Strategy Report and the staff presentation from today deserve a look. The report is at this link and the presentation video is at this link.
I highly recommend reading the whole Report, or watching the presentation. It has clear, accurate information that is essential for residents who want to understand the housing system. It’s based on credible research and data, which is increasingly important in an age when there is so much misinformation and disinformation – including in the area of housing economics.
The Report is based on real data and analysis by experts in the field published in peer reviewed journals and by CMHC. This is in sharp contrast to the housing and affordability narratives we sometimes see promoted in social media and little corners of the internet by people who are straying far outside of their areas of expertise.
A few highlights, though the whole Report is worth reading:
- The overall rental vacancy rate has risen to 2.5%, which is the highest its been in years. The vacancy rate of course is directly related to the rate of rent increases. However, we are still below the 4% balanced rate.
- Six affordable, non-market housing buildings with 488 new affordable homes were completed in 2024, more than double the number completed in 2023.
- We are 78% of the way to the 6,000 homes in 2025 target in the 2019 Housing Strategy. As staff explained during today’s meeting, we cannot take our foot off the gas; faster population growth numbers in recent years have meant we now have a latent demand of 8,000+ homes, plus 1,000 homes annual demand increase.
- The report explains moving chains clearly: basically, all new housing is expensive, but new housing frees up existing (more affordable) housing throughout the housing spectrum. More on this process at this link and on other ways new expensive housing helps to ease the housing crisis for people with average and lower incomes.
- Staff explained during the meeting that it’s important to build homes in all parts of the housing spectrum – deeply affordable and market housing and family housing.
There is so much more to recommend in the report and presentation that I can’t cover at all here. Again it’s worth a look.