Lack of affordable housing in eastern P.E.I. explored in new Rotary Club report

Access to housing in eastern P.E.I. is becoming more strained as housing prices increase, the population grows and supply decreases, according to a report released Wednesday by the Rotary Club of Montague.

The service club commissioned a survey to get a better understanding of housing needs in the area, and now it is looking at what it can do to help.

"We get a lot of requests for donations, and housing comes up. It's not really in our mandate, it's not something that we do, but it kept coming up," said Andy Daggett, chair of the club's small donations committee. 

"So it was something we had to ask the question, like why is this such an issue and … is there anything we can do to help?" 

According to statistics from the Canadian Real Estate Association, the median home price in eastern P.E.I. has nearly doubled in the last decade — from $79,516 in 2009 to $151,000 in 2019. 

A look at the housing landscape

The survey was conducted for the club by MRSB Consulting in May and June of this year. It was available to people in eastern P.E.I. at 13 retail locations and online and received 529 valid responses, according to the company. Respondents were not required to answer every question, meaning the respondent numbers vary from question to question. 

The boundaries of the study encompassed most areas east of the Hillsborough Bridge that links Charlottetown with eastern P.E.I.

The survey asked a range of questions related to household makeup, income and finances and people's satisfaction with their current housing. 

While most homes in eastern P.E.I. have three or more bedrooms, the survey found that more than half of households have one or two occupants. 

And while most residents own their own home rather than renting, not everyone is able to find suitable housing. The survey found 27 per cent of people have had to couch surf at some point. Thirty per cent of those under age 35 live with family or are currently couch surfing. 

Meanwhile 40 per cent of respondents said it is difficult to meet their financial needs. 

Barriers to development

The report also looks at barriers to increasing the housing supply — and what solutions might exist. 

Canada's 2016 census indicates a 2.2 per cent population growth in eastern P.E.I. over 2011. Meanwhile, numbers from the Canadian Real Estate Association indicate that the number of new real estate listings has been declining. 

The MRSB study looked at Airbnb listings and found 581 entire homes for rent in eastern P.E.I. in July 2019. 

The report concludes that the inventory of affordable housing needs to be increased, but that developers face barriers — including many people not able to pay market rates and a lack of availability of financing from banks and government. 

"It's harder to do smaller units in the rural areas, and that seems to be certainly adding to the issue. It's just trying to get developers who are willing to do that and finding the financing to help out with those things," Daggett said. "It seems to be there for the more urban areas and centralized areas."

Next steps

With the report laying out the landscape of housing in the eastern part of the province, the club is now looking at what it can do to help. 

"If you don't have somewhere safe and warm to stay, nothing else can really take place," Daggett said. 

The report outlines several options, including providing support to groups or individuals that are creating housing, the club building its own subsidized units, developing assistance programs and lobbying government to change policies.

The report recommends supporting community groups — that could include financial support. However, Daggett said no decisions have been made yet. 

"I'm hoping by early next year we'll certainly have a better idea of just what is the role we want to play."

He said he hopes others will benefit from the information in the report, including government and developers.  

More P.E.I. news