58 per cent of non-homeowners pessimistic about ever being able to buy a home: poll

A "For Sale" sign is seen in front of a home in Windsor-Essex. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)

Local realtors are calling for action to build more homes as 63 per cent of residents support more missing middle housing in Windsor-Essex, according to a recent poll.

Windsor residents are struggling under the affordability crisis and over half (51 per cent) want elected officials to step up and take action to make housing more attainable.

The study shows at the heart of the affordability crisis is the cost of housing, with 58 per cent of residents who don’t own their home saying they are pessimistic or have given up on being able to ever buy a home in Windsor and Essex County.

The poll of residents living in Windsor & Essex County was conducted by Abacus Data County on behalf of the Windsor-Essex County Association of Realtors (WECAR).

“Residents report having a great quality of life living in Windsor and Essex County and they give our elected officials strong marks on most city services,” said Mark Lalovich, president of WECAR. “One area where there is a lot of frustration and concern is housing affordability. That concern should be a call to action to all elected officials in our region that we need urgent action to build more housing.”

According to the poll, 66 per cent of Windsor and Essex County residents say that the availability of housing is “poor” or “terrible.” While historically housing affordability was an issue most identified with younger generations, the problem now impacts all age groups, demographics,and voter segments.

“Young and old, rural and urban, renters and owners all say that housing availability in Windsor and Essex is a major problem. Many young families are wondering whether they will ever be able to afford a home,” said Lalovich. “With so much business investment coming to our region, we must get this right. We’re not building enough homes to meet the demand and that must change.”

Housing supply targets set by the province say Windsor must build 13,000 new homes by 2031. Currently, WECAR says Windsor is struggling to meet that target having achieved only 36 per cent of housing starts required.

A key to meeting that target will be building more missing middle housing. According to WECAR’s poll, a strong majority of residents (63%) support building more missing middle housing in Windsor and Essex County, housing that can provide most of the features of single-family housing.

“Residents know we need to build more housing and they support more gentle density,” said Krista Gionet, executive officer at WECAR. “Growth does not have to be a debate between building single family homes and high-rise apartments. Elected officials must turn their attention to policies that will make it easier to build semi-detached, row, duplex, triplex and fourplex style housing.”

To build more missing middle housing, WECAR has put a 5-point policy plan on the table with the Windsor and Essex County councils that proposes to:

1. Cut zoning red tape to permit more in-fill housing;
2. End exclusionary zoning and legalize missing middle housing;
3. Eliminate parking minimums in downtown areas;
4. Hire more planning staff to support the city and county planning departments; and,
5. Sell surplus city & county land to build affordable housing.