31% of Prince George households are renters.
That’s according to a StatsCan number from 2016 that was used in last night’s (Monday) city council presentation on housing needs.
Matt Thomson with Urban Matters put together the 222-page report outlining gaps in housing across the board in the city, and noted the growth the city has been seeing.
“Comparatively Prince George has grown more slowly than the rest of the province as a whole.”
He said smaller communities across BC are seeing more investment in housing.
“The volume of new builds taking place in Prince George, certainly we’re seeing that with the broader BC housing market. Communities that are not necessarily larger metropolitan regions like Kelowna, or Metro Vancouver, or the capital regional district around Victoria, are starting to see a lot more investment.”
In terms of what Prince George residents need, and not necessarily what is desired, Thomson said there was a large need for studio and one bedroom households.
“For the projected households that are required would be studio and one bedroom, and then approximately even distribution of two and three bedroom households.”
Thomson said renters and the rental market are experiencing pressure, but that isn’t news to him.
“I want to be clear that this is not unusual, Prince George is not an outlier in this way. In pretty much every community that we have conducted a housing needs report for, which is well over 60 in BC at this point, this is the trend that we see.”
He added that many people are stuck dealing with this pressure, whether they want to or not.
“Renter incomes are consistently lower incomes, which means that they don’t even have the option or choice to purchase, for the most part. There are always some outliers, some higher income renters who are choosing to rent, but for the large majority of renters, in Prince George and elsewhere, renting is not a choice, it is the only option on the market.”
Thomson summarized that their public engagement found that people are looking for more non-market housing, more accessible units, and are finding that available housing isn’t meeting the needs of all residents.
Councillor Cori Ramsay was very excited about this report, noting that the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) numbers the City uses are way off the mark.
“It says as of October 2021, the median rent for a three plus bedroom house in Prince George is $1,128, according to CMHC, and that is so off, it’s not even funny.”
The Housing Needs Report estimated that the median rate for a three bedroom rental house in the city is closer to $2,475.
“This data from CMHC is the data that we have used to do cost estimates in our community for years,” added Ramsay.
“What is Planning and Development going to do to encourage development in those categories that we are desperate in. First time homeownership is such a huge impossibility right now. And I worry with a University and a College, and an issue retaining young people, how can we make sure that we are keeping those professionals, those much needed professionals, in our community?”
She added many people are living in bad situations because of a lack of housing.
“I’ve heard comments from many renters that are living in unsafe accommodations, and just because there are no other options for them, and I’m sure other Councillors around the table have heard similar comments.”
No exact details were given on any work being done to alleviate these housing needs from the City, but it was noted that this would help with incentives and zoning in the future to try and fill in the gaps.