The Waterloo Region Community Foundation's 2023 Vital Signs report focused on affordable housing this year to provide more information about an issue impacting the entire community and requires governments and organizations at every level turn that knowledge into action, says a news release.
Released today, the 2023 Waterloo Region Vital Signs report illustrates how the housing crisis continues to hit the region's most vulnerable the hardest – the young, non-homeowner older adults, newcomers and refugees, those who identify as Indigenous, Black or as a person of colour, those with disabilities, and individuals exiting the child welfare system, the release added.
By June 2023, the average home price in both Cambridge and Kitchener-Waterloo reached approximately $778,000 on the MLS Home Price Index, a leap from $197,200 (Kitchener-Waterloo) and $208,600 (Cambridge) in January 2005.
Prices in Cambridge are now eight times higher than income, up from 3.3 times higher in 2005.
That ratio puts Cambridge on par with Miami, surpassing Greater New York at 7.1 times higher than income in 2022, and nearly matches Greater London, UK, which was 8.7 times higher than income in 2022.
The data also shows:
- New home and rental unit builds are not keeping pace with population growth
- There is a mismatch in the housing that is available – with expanding households and shrinking spaces
- Extended households, including multi-generational households, roommates, and other shared households, grew faster in Waterloo Region than any other community in Canada
- Affordable units to buy or rent are disappearing
- Waterloo Region has the second highest in-migration and out-migration rate in the country
- And it is more than just housing. Waterloo Region residents’ sense of belonging and satisfaction with their neighbourhoods is below the national average
Among the findings is the fact large households are growing twice as fast in Waterloo region as in the rest of the country and three in ten new households have four or more people, but only one in twenty new rental units have three or more bedrooms.
The study also found that wait times for community housing have surged having at least doubled for many groups from 2018 to 2022, including for those 59 and older (from three to six years). For those under the age of 59, the wait for two-bedroom units increased from two to five years, for three-bedroom units from four to eight years, and for one-bedroom units from seven to eight years.
“Affordable housing is a shared community-wide concern and has been an area of focus for WRCF since 2019,” says Waterloo Region Community Foundation President and CEO Eric Avner. “We are not housing experts, but we hope this report provides new information about what this means for our most vulnerable community members, illustrates some actions that are making a difference, and creates additional momentum for action. Together we can tackle the challenges ahead.”
The Vital Signs report is sponsored by Common Good Strategies, Equitable Life of Canada, Maxwell Building Consultants, Waterloo Region Association of Realtors, Kindred Credit Union and Libro Credit Union.
