The City of Orillia and the County of Simcoe have partnered to create an action plan for bringing more attainable housing to the city, revealing some harrowing realities in the local housing market in the process.
The Housing Attainable Supply Action Plan, or Housing ASAP, aims to identify local needs and develop housing strategies to implement and advocate for over the next five years.
The goal is to support moderate-income residents in the “missing middle” by increasing the number of attainable housing units provided by private developers.
Housing ASAP aims to answer three key questions for Orillia and other communities in the county:
- What is an attainable sale or rent price for working families and individuals?
- What is missing from the current housing inventory?
- What can municipalities do to help?
As part of the project, the city recently completed a housing needs assessment for Orillia, which identified the supply of attainable ownership housing is not meeting demand.
For moderate-income earners and families (between $82,834 and $113,759 per year), the affordability threshold for home ownership is between $269,978 and $370,770, but the average resale price of a home in Orillia, as of May, was $669,983.
Currently, there are no housing types at average price points that are affordable to purchase for those with a gross income less than $236,000.
The assessment also found the average price of rental units in the city is affordable only for those earning between $157,000 and $236,000 per year, given the following rental data gathered between January 2022 and May 2023:
- The average rent for a single detached dwelling in Orillia is $2,567 per month.
- The average rent for a townhouse in Orillia between is $2,399 per month.
- The average price for a leased condomunium is $1,904 per month.
- The average price for an additional dwelling unit, or a unit in a multiple dwelling, is $1,838 to $1,978 per month.
Currently, 8.5 per cent of homeowners and 40.8 per cent of renters are in ‘core housing need,’ meaning they experience affordability-related problems.
In its report, city staff stated the assessment data shows “there is a significant lack of options affordable to moderate-income groups in both the ownership and rental markets in Orillia.”
From here, the city will engage the development and affordable housing sectors, employers, city staff, and other, and a virtual public information session will be held in November.
The city’s consultant, N. Barry Lyon Consultants, will prepare a report outlining best practices and possible solutions, which is expected to be presented to the affordable housing committee in November.
In the first quarter of 2024, council will be presented with the final version of Orillia’s Housing ASAP.
The initiative is important, said Orillia Mayor Don McIsaac.
“Housing attainability is a significant concern in Orillia. We are taking actions to address this, including hiring a housing coordinator and working with our partners at the County of Simcoe to find strategies to reduce the price of rental units and the cost of housing," McIsaac said in a media release.
"We look forward to receiving the recommendations from the Draft Housing Attainable Supply Action Plan once complete and continuing our partnership with the County and other levels of government to work together to create solutions for housing in our community.”
Basil Clarke, Mayor of Ramara Township and Warden of Simcoe County, said the project is "critical to our communities" in the region.
“Our residents know the cost of living is increasing at a rapid and uncomfortable pace and we want to assure them that the county and its partners are working together to ensure that they have the conditions needed to thrive in our communities," Clarke said.
"I am pleased that the City of Orillia has partnered with us on the Housing ASAP project and look forward to hearing real solutions that balance the growth of our communities with a price tag that ordinary people can afford.”
The full housing needs assessment can be found in Thursday’s council information package.
