Radium Hot Springs’ interim housing needs report shows that homes are less affordable, but it has given the village council direction for its strategy.
Mayor Mike Gray said the report highlighted gaps in the community’s housing market.
“It sheds light on what type of housing is going to come about through natural market pressure and what types we need to encourage and find ways to make happen,” explained Gray.
The report estimates that Radium will need 106 new housing units in the next five years.
However, affordability is a significant issue across most demographics.
“The previous report found that home-ownership was relatively affordable for couples with and without children, but unaffordable for individuals living alone,” said the report.
“The current data finds that, though single-person households continue to have the least amount of buying power, lone-parent households and couples without children also face significant challenges entering the housing market.”
Gray said the municipality has made some progress in relieving strain on the community’s housing market.
“We purchased a 3-unit rental building to keep in the long-term rental market to send a message that it was an important thing and something we’re going to participate in,” said Gray.
“We also made a permissive tax exemption for properties that are built to stay in the long-term rental market. If someone gets into building a property and has it as a long-term rental, the Village will forgo any tax increase that would come from the increased property value.”
More plans are in the works to further meet the community’s housing needs, but the mayor said he will remain tight-lipped about them for now.
“Until something is finalized, it’s really difficult to shed too much light on it,” said Gray.
“As a municipality, I can tell you that our staff spend a great deal of time making sure that the problem of long-term housing is something they look at on a daily basis. It’s a huge part of their work right now.”
Something going on in your part of the Kootenays you think people should know about? Send us a news tip by emailing news@myeastkootenaynow.com.
