APRIL 2022 |
Niagara Region
Photography: Darren Clarke
Housing
59
The Supply Crisis Continues
by Hailey Coltsen
he Niagara region is no stranger to the piping-hot Canadian housing market, experiencing tremendous growth alongside the rest of the nation in recent years. Despite other concerns presented by members of the Niagara community, the 2019 federal election revealed that the
According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), only 529 residential properties were listed in January of 2022 by the Niagara Association of REALTORS®, as opposed to 616 in January of 2021. This statistic alone displays a clear lack of housing availability for Niagara residents, resulting in an obnoxious surge in market pricing by the effect of supply and demand. Staggering increases have been recorded in recent years; according to statistics from the Niagara Association of REALTORS®, year-over-year home prices from October 2021 to October 2022 increased by 33.5% in Niagara, for a monetary value of over $170,000. Prices within Niagara Falls specifically rose slightly higher than the rest of the region with an increase of 34%.
What’s causing the lack of supply? Many factors have contributed to a lack of available housing in Niagara, with the most impactful due to living preferences of certain demographics. Recent trends studied by CREA have shown that the largest demographic of homeowners remains the baby boomer generation, limited to those born between 1946-1966. The Royal Society of Canada recorded that not only are baby boomers less inclined to leave their family homes, but 50% would rather renovate their current properties to accommodate their living needs than to relocate or move into typical assisted living accommodations.
President of Niagara Association of REALTORS®, Doug Rempel, stated that “The fact of the matter is, (baby boomers) are equity strong, they are sort of bucking the historic trend and it takes a certain amount of inventory that would otherwise be in the market out of the market”. This effect of boomer equity being tied-up in real estate endeavours contributes negatively to the problem, as it gives this generation more reason to stay where they are. Considering that baby boomers represent such a large demographic in Niagara’s population, this removes a significant amount of inventory from the home-buying pool.
finance & investment
main source of worry amongst Niagara residents stems from an immense shortage of housing.
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