Housing Needs Report sees changes with census data

The City of Prince George’s Housing Needs Report has been updated following the 2021 census.

City Council was provided an overview of the update at last night’s (Monday) meeting.

“There’s been a reduced rate of core housing, this may be in part due to the relief programs provided during that census period, during COVID-19, CERB, and other rental relief-related supports,” said Deklan Corstanje, Manager of Economic Development.

Corstanje noted there may be an uptick in need over the next census period.

“There has been some reduced affordability challenges, some have increased, costs have gone up and increased at a rate faster than incomes have gone up,” he said.

“We see sort of a smattering of shifts in the affordability of housing of different types in Prince George, so this report caps it off and shows where the challenges are.”

According to the updated report, average homesales prices have increased 169 per cent between 2006 and 2021, while the average rental unit prices have increased 79 per cent between 2005 and 2021.

The updated report the city still needs approximately:

• 2,500 new ownership households (2,700 needed in 2021)
• 3,100+ rental units (5,000+ in 2021)
• 300+ seniors supported housing units and 160 units of supported housing for other needs. (No change from 2021)
• 1,900 subsidized units serving households with income less than $60,000 annually. (2,500+ in 2021)

Councillor Cori Ramsay noted there was a dent put into the housing needed by 2031.

“At the end of the day, we still are going from requiring 10,863 units of housing to 8,123, it’s still a massive feat we need to achieve by 2031,” she said.

“I think this update is going to need to be done on a regular basis moving forward,” said Councillor Garth Frizzell.

Director of Planning and Development Deanna Waznik noted while the current update reflects the latest census data, any information that could help inform a more frequent update, that update could be provided.

Other items discussed at last night’s meeting included a centralized approach to homeless encampments, and an update from the Prince George Folkfest Society on the Coldsnap festival.