Think of an iceberg, with its visible tip but most of it underwater. It’s a good way to think about those affected by the housing affordability crisis.
People who once were housed but are now experiencing homelessness are the visible tip of the housing affordability crisis. They are the most obvious, and hardest hit, victims of our housing system, but unseen are a vastly larger proportion of our population, struggling with soaring housing costs and/or inadequate housing, with the resulting stress, health challenges, narrowed choices and depleted savings for emergencies or retirement. Let’s look at that housing affordability iceberg in Hamilton.
How many are affected by the housing crisis in Hamilton?
~250 individuals living in encampments, the visible tip of the iceberg.
+ 1,340 additional individuals known to be experiencing homelessness
That’s about a quarter of 1 per cent of all Hamiltonian individuals.
+ 28,055 additional households who are in “core housing need” (in homes that are overcrowded and/or need major repairs and/or are unaffordable and they can’t find adequate, suitable housing they can afford)
+ 27,000 additional households who pay more than 30% of income for housing but aren’t in core need
That’s at least 1/4 of all city households facing an affordability challenge, mostly renters. Core need figures significantly underestimate the number of people struggling to remain housed.
And about 180,000 households (at least 80% of all Hamilton households) don’t have sufficient income (by one calculation, at least $152,000 a year; other estimates are higher) to qualify to buy the average- priced home in Hamilton. If they already have a home to sell or parents to help with financing, they can qualify with less income than that, but high prices mean high debt (mortgage) loads. If they aren’t so fortunate, they can’t buy. They move out to buy in cheaper cities, adding commuting time (and pollution) to their schedules and breaking relationships, as well as taking needed workers away from Hamilton. Or they stay and compete with low- and moderate-income people for rented units here. That extra demand allows landlords to keep rents high, so renters aspiring to buy a home find themselves unable to save for a down payment.