The Timmins Housing Strategy has completed the research and consultation phases of the project and is now evaluating the information, looking for best practices, and developing recommendations.
The Timmins Housing Strategy has completed the research and consultation phases of the project and is now evaluating the information, looking for best practices, and developing recommendations. There are a couple of major challenges in every community facing housing shortages or low vacancy rates. These include:
- It can be hard to get the private sector interested in housing developments of the size needed here in Timmins
- When times are booming, we need more housing, but construction firms find it hard to compete with the mines for skilled tradespeople
- Private sector builders are not interested in building lower-profit affordable housing
- It’s hard to get accurate information about actual demand for housing
That last challenge is now less of an issue. SHS, the firm carrying out the Housing Study, has found that 1 in 4 people who rent housing in Timmins are paying beyond their means…that means they are paying more than 30% of their income on housing. The study has also found that the vacancy rate is 1.1%, and the average rental price paid in the city for
all types of units is $795/month. For a rough comparison, the
average rental rate for a 2-bedroom unit in Sudbury is $840, in Toronto it’s $1,123 and Kingston it’s $935. The consultant’s full report is due early in the new year. You can download an update on the study’s progress to date
here (Timmins2020 site).
