There is not enough affordable housing across the Quinte region.
It’s not new information but numbers presented at a special real estate summit Friday night at the National Air Force Museum in Trenton certainly reiterated the point.
The Quinte District Association of Realtors (QDAR) commissioned Nanos Research, led by Trenton native Nik Nanos to conduct a poll of Belleville, Quinte West and Prince Edward County residents asking for their impressions of their community and how they view real estate in their area.
Nanos conducted a random telephone survey of 746 residents across the three communities between March 10 and 18.
Of the key findings, 81% of respondents said there is not enough affordable housing.
Stil, 60% of those polled felt the region as a whole is moving in the right direction for several reasons including it being a good and safe place to live.
Nanos said when asked to provide a piece of advice on how to make their community a better place to live there were two clear answers.
“The key takeaway here is that the reality is, is that regardless of what part of the region that you live in, the two things that, the piece of advice that they’d like to see municipal politicians take would be either to focus on roads and housing. I’ll call that meat and potatoes issues that affect peoples’ day to day lives.”
In other findings, Nanos noted that single detached homes are still the preferred type of housing that people aspire to own in all three areas.
Some good news for realtors – the reports showed 91% of people who bought or sold a home in the last five years used a realtor.
QDAR President Natasha Huizinga says they had the poll done to show all three levels of government what people in the region value and what they need.
The evening also featured a panel discussion with Bay of Quinte MP Ryan Williams and MPP Todd Smith, moderated by Ontario Real Estate Association President Tim Hudak.
Ontario Real Estate Association President Tim Hudak (right) moderates a fireside chat with Bay of Quinte MP Ryan Williams (right) and MPP Todd Smith (centre), April 14, 2023 at the National Air Force Museum in Trenton. (Photo: Quinte News/Alana Cameron)
Williams said governments may have to take a more proactive role in telling people where development is going to happen and that there will likely be different designs of home ownership in the future, perhaps more town homes or tiny homes.
Smith said they need to “build, baby, build” to meet housing needs.
He noted his government has committed to build 1.5 million homes but that number will likely need to increase and that units need to be completed more quickly.
A second discussion featured the mayors of Belleville, Quinte West and Prince Edward County.
Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis said they continue to investigate allowing more density to get more units built.
Steve Ferguson, mayor of Prince Edward County noted they have made by-law adjustments for tiny homes and garden suites as well as offering some financial incentives for people who want to add them to their properties.
Jim Harrison said one of Quinte West’s biggest issues is expanding their water and wastewater to accommodate growth in the city.
Huizinga called the evening a success and believes politicians from all three tiers of government will put the report’s findings to good use.
Read the Nanos Report here.
